CHAP. I. Verse 1. A servant of Iesus Christ.

THis is an higher title th [...]n Monarch of the world, as Numa, second King of Rome could say. [...]. Pult.

Verse 2. Promised] Fore-shewed and foreshadowed.

Verse 3. Concerning his Son] Here's a lofty and lively description of Christs sacred person. The whole Epistle being the Con­fession of our Churches, as Melancthon calleth it,Scultet. Annal. who therefore went over it ten severall times in his ordinary Lectures: The Epi­stle being such, as never can any man possibly think, speak or write sufficiently of it's worth and excellency.

Verse 4. Declared to be, &c.] Gr. Defined; [...]. for definitions ex­plain obscurities.

With power] For, Superas evadere ad auras; Hic labor, [Page 2]hoc opus est—a work befitting a God, See Ephes. 1.20. with the Note there.

The Spirit of holinesse] The divine essence of Christ, 2 Cor. 13 4. which sanctifieth the humane nature assumed by him.

Verse 5. For obedience to the faith] That is, to the Gospel (that doctrine of faith) or to Christ, who is oft put for faith (whereof he is the proper object) in this Epistle. Kisse the Son, &c.Psal. 2 12. Math. 17.5. Hear him.

Verse 6. Ye are the called] With an high and heavenly calling, Heb. 3.1. See the Note there.

Verse 7. Called to be Saints] Those then that are called, are Saints, whilest alive, and not only those that are canonized by the Pope after they are dead,Bemb in List. Venet. In numerum Deorum ab Ecclesia Ro­mana relati, as Bembus profanely speaketh of their Saint Francis, a sorry man,Dan hist of Engl. fol. 99. of whom (as once of Becket 48 years after his death) it may well be disputed, Whether he were damned or saved. Pope Callistus 3. sainted some such in his time, as of whom Cardinall Bess [...]rion, Iac. Revius. bist. Pontis. knowing them for naught, said, These new Saints make me doubt much of the old.

Grace he to you, and peace] See the Note on 1 Cor. 1.2.

Verse 8. Your faith is spoken of] See chap. 16. and Juvenal, Tacitus, and other profane writers, who bitterly exagitate the do­ctrines and practices of those Roman Christians.

Verse 9. Whom I serve in my spirit] That is, with all the facul­ties of my soul concentred and co-united.

Verse 10 I might have a prosperous journey] This he praied, and this he had by such a way as he little dreamt of. Little thought Paul, that when he was bound at Ierusalem, and posted from one prison to another, that God was now sending him to Rome: yet he sent him, and very safe, with a great Convoy. God goes oft another way to work, for our good, then we could imagine.

Verse 11. That I may impart] There is no envy in spirituall things, because they may be divided in solidum; one may have as much as another,Theat Naturae. and all alike. Scientiarum (sic & gratiarum) ca vis est & natura, ut quò plus doceas, & alteride tuo largiare, cò ditior ac doctior fias, saith Bodine. Such is the nature and pro­perty of sciences and graces, that the more you communicate them, the more you encrease them.

Verse 12. That I may be comforted] Or exhorted, Ad com­munem exhortationem percipiendam, saith Beza out of Bucer, and [Page 3]others. The meanest of Christs members may contribute somewhat to the edifying even of an Apostle.

Verse 13. But was let hitherto] Either by Satan, 1 Thess. 2.18. or by the holy Spirit, otherwise disposing of him, as Act. 19.6, 7. or by some intervenient, but important occasion: as Chap. 15.20, 21.

Verse 14. I am debter] Because entrusted with talents for that purpose, 1 Cor. 9.16. See the Note there.

Verse 15. So as much] Quicquid in me situm est, promptum est. A notable expression.

Verse 16. For I am not ashamed] As men are apt to be; whence that fatherly charge, 2 Tim. 1.8. ‘Doe ye thinke (said Iohn Frith, Martyr, to the Archbishops men that would have let him go) that I am afraid to declare mine opinion unto the Bi­shops of England in a manifest truth?Act. and Mon. 1917. If you should both leave me here, and go tell the Bishops that you had lost Frith, I would surely follow as fast after, as I might, and bring them news that I had found and brought Frith again.’

For it is the power, &c.] Eternall life is potentially in the Word preached, as the harvest is potentially in the seed.

Verse 17. The just shall live by faith] Hab. 2.4. that is, they shall enjoy themselves by their faith, in greatest disasters, or dan­gers, when others are at their wits ends, that's the Prophets sense; and the Apostle not unfitly applieth it to prove justification by faith alone: for if a man live by faith, he is just by faith.

Verse 18. Who hold the truth] Hold the light of their consci­ences (which is as a Prophet from God) prisoner. The naturall man, that he may sin the more securely, imprisons the truth, which he acknowledgeth, and laies hold on all the principles in his head, that might any way disturb his course in sin, locking them up in re­straint. Hence it appears that no man is righteous in himself, or by his own righteousnes, which was the [...]

Verse 19. Because that which may] Heathens might know God the Creatour, per species creaturarum (as they speak) ei­ther in way of negation, or causality, or eminence; not so God the Redeemer.

Verse 20. Are clearly seen] As in a mirrour,Pervidentur. or as on a theatre. Ʋt solem in aquis, sic Deum in operibus contem­plamur.

Verse 21. Neither were thankefull] How then shall we an­swer [Page 4] to God our hatefull unthankfulnesse, which is (saith one) a monster in nature, a solecisme in manners, a paradox in divi­nity, a parching winde to damme up the fountain of divine favours.

But became vain in their imaginations] Gr. [...]. In their reason­ings, disputations, discourses upon serious deliberation. They stood not to their own principles (as, That there is one God only, That this God is to be worshipped, &c.) but were Atheists by night that worshipped the Sun, and Atheists by day that wor­shipped the Moon, as Cyril saith wittily.

Verse 22. Professing themselves to be wise] Aristotle, Na­tures chief Secretary, writeth many things most absurdly concern­ing God: As,Metaphys. l. 12. that he is a living creature, That he worketh not freely,Ib. lib 1. Bodin. Theat. Nat p 29. but by a kinde of servile necessity; and that therefore he deserveth no praise or thanks from men for his many benefits, sith he doth but what he must needs do. These are Aristotles absurd assertions. And yet at Stuckard in Germany, was found a Doctour of Divinity that preached to the people, That the Church might be sufficiently well taught and governed by Aristotles Ethicks, though we had no Bible: And the Collen Divines set forth a book, concer­ning Aristotles salvation.

Verse 23. Made like to corruptible man] God made man in his own image: And (to be even with him, as it were) will needs make God, after his image.

And fourfooted beasts] God therefore justly gave them up to Sodomy, whith did abase them below the beasts: that there might be an analogy between the sin and the punishment. This is called a meet recompence, ver. 27. They dishonoured God, they disho­noured therefore themselves. They would not know nor honour him, they shall not therefore know, nor spare one another, &c. so severely will God punish the contempt of rebellion against the light.

And creeping things] In Lapland the people worship that all day for a god,Abbots his Geog. whatsoever they see first in the morning, be it a bird or worme.

Verse 24.Arist. Etb.l 7. c. 3, 4. Gave them up to uncleannesse] Aristotle confes­seth the disability of morall knowledge to rectifie the intem­perance of nature; and made it good in his practice: for he used a common strumpet to satisfie his lust. Socrates is said to have had his Catamite,Iavenal. Inter Socratices, &c.

Verse 25. Who changed] They tare out their naturall principles and turned Atheists.

Verse 26. Into that which is against nature] So against nature, that children (natures end) and posterity is utterly lost by it.

Verse 27. Leaving the naturall] As at this day in the Le­vant, Sodomy is held no sinne.B [...]unts voyage. The Turkish Basha's have many wives, but more Catamites, which are their serious loves.

Burned in their lust] Gr. Were scalded. [...]. Some men put off all manhood, become dogs, worse then dogs. Hence Deut. 23.18. The price of a dog, that is of a buggerer, as Iunius and Deo­datus expound it.

Verse 28. To a reprobate minde] Or, an injudicious minde: Or, a minde rejected, disallowed, abhorred of God: Or a minde that none hath cause to glory in, but rather to be much asha­med of.

Verse 29. With all unrighteousnesse] The mother of all the en­suing misrule.

Wickednesse] The Syrian saith, Bitternesse. See Ier. 2.19.

Envy, murther] Three such Agnominations are found in this black bedroll. The Apostle seems delighted with them, [...]. as was likewise the Prophet Isaiah. Of which noble two, I may well say, as one doth of Demosthenes and Cicero, Demosthenes Cice­roni praecipust ne esset primus Orator, Cicero Demostheni, ne solus.

Malignity] Or, Morosity, crossenesse.

Verse 30. Haters of God] And so God-murtherers, 1 Joh. 3.15. See the Note there.

Verse 31. Implacable] That will not hear of a truce, much lesse of a peace.

Verse 32. Have pleasure] Or, they patronize, [...]. Theoph. applaud and approve: This is set last, as worst of all: it comprehends all kindes of consent. To hold the bagge is as bad as to fill it.

CHAP. II. Verse 1. Therefore thou art inexcusable.

THough thou have no pleasure in them that do evil, as Chap. 1. 32. but dost superciliously censure them, being thy self other­wise as bad. Cato is said to have exercised usury, to have prostitu­ted his wife, to have slain himself. God oft sets a Noverint uni­versi upon the worlds wizards, for the foulest fools.

Verse 2. Which commit such] As Cato, ver. 1. whom yet Velleius affirmeth to have been, hominem virtuti simillimum. But God judgeth not as man.

Verse 3. Thinkest thou] This is preaching to the conscience, to the quick.

Verse 4. [...]. The goodnesse of God] Gr. His native goodnesse, ready to be imploied to the behoof and benefit of the creature, Tit. 3.4. Now as the beam of the Sunne shining on fire, doth discou­rage the burning of that; so the shining of Gods mercies on us should dishearten and extinguish lust in us. This is so equall, and needfull a duty, that Peter picks this flower out of Pauls garden, as one of the choisest, and urgeth it upon those to whom he writes, 2 Pet, 3.15.

Verse 5. Treasurest up unto thy self] Sicut mittentes pecuni­am in gazophyla [...]ium, quod, ubi jam impletur, confringitu [...], saith Stella upon Luke. In treasuring, there is, 1. Laying in. 2. Ly­ing hid. 3. Bringing out again, as there is occasion. Wicked persons, whiles by following their lusts, they thinke they do some­what to their happinesse, shall in the end finde, Pro the sauro car­hones, those burning coals, Psal. 140.10.

Verse 6. Who] See the Note on Mat. 16.27.

Verse 7. Who by patient continuance] Or, By suffering per­secution for righteousnesse sake. Gordius the Martyr said, It is to my losse,Tertal. Ep. ad Polycarp. if you bate me any thing in my sufferings. Majora cer­tamina, majora sequuntur pramia, [...], saith Ignatius. Much pains hath much gains.

Verse 8. [...]. But unto them that are contentious] That wrangle and thwartle against clearest truths, searching the devils skull for carnall arguments, as those Athenians, Act. 17. being refractary as Pharaoh, who would not sit down under the miracle, but sent [Page 7]for the Magicians. And though the word doth eat up all they can say, as Moses his rod did, yet harden they their hearts as Pharaoh, and resolve to curse, as Balaam, what ever come of it. These are those contentious ones.

Verse 9. Of the Iew first] Qui ideò deteriores sunt, quia meli­ores esse deberent. Who are therefore worse,Salvian. because they should be better.

Verse 10. Peace] Safety here, and salvation hereafter.

Verse 11. For] See the Note on Act. 10.34.

Verse 12. Perish without law] Or, Though they hall no written law, as that of Moses.

Verse 13. But the doers of the law] The Scriptures are verba vivenda non l [...]genda, Aug. as Egidius Abbot of Norimberg said of the 119. Psalm. Boni Catholici sunt qui & sidem integram sequun­tur, & bonos mores. Lessons of musick must be practised, and a co­py not read only, but acted. Divinity must be done as well as known.

Verse 14. Doe by nature, &c.] Velleius saith that Cato was,Vell, lib, 2. Homo virtuti simillimus, cui id solum visum est rationem ha­bere, quod Haberet justitiam, omnibus humanis vitiis immu­nis, &c.

Are a law to themselves] The Thracians glorie [...] [...]hat they were [...], living laws, walking statutes.

Verse 15. Their thoughts mean while] Or, [...]. Betwixt whiles: Or in every interim of this life. Other faculties may rest; an obscene dream by night shall not scape consciences record, it is index, judex, vindex. Gods say, and mans over-seer; and it is better to have it sore, then seared.

Verse 16. According to my Gospel] Which promiseth heaven to beleevers. This is comfort to those that are faithfull in weak­nesse, though but weak in faith. The sentence of the last day shall be but a more manifest declaration of that judgement that the Lord in this life, most an end, hath passed upon men. Heathens shall be judged by the law of Nature: Prostigate Professours by the law written, and the Word preached: Beleevers by the Gospel, which saith, If there be a willing minde, God accepteth, &c.

Verse 17. Restest in the law] So spending thy time in a still dream, but thou shalt have sick waking, then when God shall send out summons for such sleepers.Judg. 7. Men dream their Midianitish dreams, and then tell them for law or Gospel to their neighbours.

Verse 18. [...]. Being instructed out of the law] Gr. Being well ca­techized and principled, thou art able to discern of doctrines, and choose the best.

Verse 19. Of the blinde] The Chinois say, That all other Nati­ons see but with one eye, they with two.

Verse. 20. Which hast the form of knowledge] A platform of wholsome words, [...]. a systeme, a method artificially moulded, such as Tutours and Professours of Arts and Sciences have, and do read o­ver again and again to their Auditours.

Verse 21. Teachest thou not thy self!] He that knows well, and does worse, is but as a whiffler which carrieth a torch in his hand to shew others his own deformities. I have read of a woman, who living in professed doubt of the Godhead, after better illumi­nation and repentance,M Wards, Hap of p [...]act. did often protest, That the vitious life of a great scholar in that town did conjure up those damnable doubts in her soul, Neronis illud (quantus artifex pereo?) quadrabit in te peritum & periturum. That's the best Sermon that's dig'd out of a mans own brest. Origens teaching and living were said to be both one.

Verse 22.Speeds Chron. Dost thou commit sacriledge] The Chronicler no­teth of Q. Mary, that she restored again all Ecclesiasticall livings assumed to the Crown, saying, that she set more by the salvation of her own soul, then she did by ten Kingdoms. Shall not she that abhorred not idols, rise up and condemn those that do, and yet com­mit sacriledge?

Verse 23. Thorow breaking] By shooting short, or beyond, or wide of the mark, by omission, commission, or failing in the manner.

Verse 24. For the Name of God, &c.] Heretikes and hypo­crites doe still with Iudas deliver up the Lord Christ to the scoffes and buffetings of his enemies. Augustine complains of the ancient heretikes.Aug. deciv. Dei, l. 1 c. 51. that in them many evil-minded men found matter of blaspheming the Name of Christ, because they also pretended to the Christian religion. Epiphanius addeth, That for the loosenesse of such mens lives, and the basenesse of their tenets, many of the Heathens shunned the company of Christians, and would not be drawn to hear their Sermons.T [...]e opific. Dei, proaem. Origen before them both cries out, Nunc malè audiunt castigantur (que) vulgò Christiani, quòd alitèr quàm sapientibus convenit, vivant, & vitia sub obtentu nominis celent, &c. There is an ill report goes of Christians for their un­christian [Page 9]conversation, &c. Ammianus Marcellinus a Heathen Historian deeply taxeth the pride, luxury, contentions, covetous­nesse of the Bishops in his time, and the deadly hatreds of common Christians.Am. Marc l. 2 [...] cap. 2, Nullae infestae hominibus bestiae, ut sunt sibi se­rales pleri (que) Christiani, saith he. A sad thing that a Heathen should see and detest such hellish miscarriages among Chri­stians.

Verse 25. If thou keep the law] Which thou art thereby bound to do, either by thy self, or by thy Surety Christ Jesus.

Verse 26. If the uncircumcision] Which it can never do. But admit it could, &c.

Verse 27. Iudge thee] Mens guilt is encreased by their obliga­tions, as was Solomons in departing from God, who had appeared unto him twice, 1 King. 11 9.

Verse 28. Neither is that circumcision] See Colos. 2.11. with the Note there. Inward circumcision is (as Origen describeth it) Purgatio animae & abjc ctio vitiorum, or (as S^t Paul in the place above named) the putting ost old Adam with his actions, by the circumcision of Christ, by his merit and Spirit.

Verse 29. Which is one inwardly] An Israelite indeed, Ioh. 1. that hath put away the foreskin of his heart, Ier. 4.4.

CHAP. III. Verse 1. What advantage]

GR. What odds, singular thing, prerogative? See my True Trea­sure, Chap. 7. Sect. 2. [...].

Verse 2. Chiefly, because that, &c.] This was their prime pri­viledge, that they were Gods library-keepers, that this heavenly treasure was concredited unto them. Other Nations are said to have been without God, because without those lively oracles, 2 Chron. 15.3. Ephes. 2.12. Prize we this priviledge, and improve it. You must never expect another edition of the faith once recei­ved, Jude 3, once for all.

Verse 3. The faith of God] That is, his faithfull promises, op­posed to mans perfidy.

Verse 4. Every man a lier] viz. By nature. But Isa. 63.8. Gods people are children that will not lie, they will die rather. Non ideò negare volo, ne peream: sed ideò mentiri nolo ne peccem, [Page 10]saith she upon the rack, of whom S^t Hieron [...] writeth. The offi­cers of Merindol answered the Bishop that moved them to abjure, That they marvelled much that he would perswade them to lie to God and the world.Act and Mon. [...]ol. 860. And albeit that all men by nature are liers, yet they had learned by the Word of God, that they ought dili­gently to take heed of lying in any matter, be it never so small, &c.

That thou maist be justified in thy sayings] David speaketh of the truth of Nathans reprehension; Paul applies it to the truth of God in his promises also. Let us give him a testimoniall, Ioh. 3.33. Such as is that Deut. 32.4. A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he.

And mightest overcome] Maist be pure,Psal. 51. saith David. Zacah in the Syriack is used for overcoming. Vincit veritas, & dare non dignis res magè digna Deo est.

Verse 5. Is God unrighteous] Such heart-boilings there were in the rejected Jews. And Iob said little lesle, till God over-hear­ing him, steps, as it were, from behinde the hangings, and takes him up for it, Iob 38.2. Who is this, saith he, that talketh thus? How now?

Verse 6. I speak as a man] q. d. Is there not such language heard in some mens hearts?

Verse 7. For if the truth of God] Here the former objection is repeated, explicated, and more fully answered, that every month might be stopped.Lomelius. Ferunt ranas lampade supra lacum, in quo tumultuantur, appensâ, illius sulgore repercussas conti­cescere. So gain-sayers are silenced, when the truth is thorowly cleared.

Verse 8. As we be slanderously reported] So are the reformed Churches by the black mouthed Papists. See the abatement of Po­pish brags by Alex. Cook, the Preface: Eudaemon Ioannes against Casaubon, & Calvino-Turcismum, &c.

Whose damnation is just] In the yeer of grace 1525. a Monk of Berline in Germany, who in the Pulpit charged S^t Paul with a lie, was suddenly smitten with an apoplex, whiles the word was yet in his mouth, [...]cultel. Annal. and fell down dead in the place on S. Stevens day, as they call it.

Verse 9. That they are all under sin] Whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil. Homo est inversus decalogus. Man by na­ture is no better then a filthy dunghill of all abominable vices. His [Page 11]heart the devils store-house, throne, nest. His eyes great thorow­fares of lust, pride, vanity, &c. His life a long chain of sinne­full actions, a web of wickednesse spunne out and made up by the hands of the devil and the flesh, an evil spinner,M. Whate'y his new birth. and a worse Weaver.

Verse 10. As it is written] What the Prophets had said of some particular people or person, is here applied to the whole race of mankinde, because by nature there is never a better of us, [...] Eras. Adag.

Verse 11. None that seeketh] That seeketh and fetcheth him out of his retiring-room, as she did, Mark 7.24, 25.

Verse 12. Become unprosimble] Or rotten, nasty, stinking, as the Hebrew hath it, Psalm 14.3. The old world was grown so foul, that God was forced to wash it with a deluge.

Verse 13. The poison of Aspes] Of that sort of Aspes that spit their venome farre from them upon the by standers.P [...]ya [...]es. There is a great deal of such vermine and venome in that new found world of wickednesse, the tongue, Iam. 3. It is easie to observe, that S. Paul here making the anatomy of a naturall man, stands more on the organs of speaking then all other members, and sheweth how his tongue is tipped with fraud, his lips tainted with venome, his mouth full of gall, his throat a gaping grave, his tongue as a rapi­er to run men thorow with, and his throat as a sepulcher to bury them in. As for the Asp, they write of her, That whereas her poi­son is so deadly, that the part infected cannot be cured,Io Wover. [...]nd 8. c. 23. but by cut­ting off, succurrit periclit [...]tibus benignior natura, & noxiosis­simo animali caliginosos obtutus dedit. Aspidi (saith Psi­ny) hebetes oculi dati, co [...] (que) non in fronte, sed in temporibus habet.

Verse 14. Full] As a ship that hath it's full fraught and lading. [...].

Verse 15. Swift to shed bloud] As Paul, till God stopt him in his cursed career.

Verse 16. They minde nothing but mischief.]

Verse 17. They are restlesse and troublesome.]

Verse 18. There is no fear of God] This is set last, as the source of all the former evils.

Verse 19. Guilty] Culpable, and such as cannot plead their own cause without an advocate.Chrysost.

Verse 20. Therefore by the deeds of the Law] This is directly against Popish justification by works, merits, &c. Those misled and muzled souls did worse then lose their labour that built religi­ous houses,Act. and Mon. fol. 1077. Pro remissione & redemptione peccatorum, pro reme­dio & liberatione animae, in eleemosynam animae, pro salute & re­quie animarum patrum & matrum, fratrum & sororum, &c. These were the ends that they aimed at, as appears in stories.

Verse 21. But now] Since Christ came.

Verse 22. Ʋpon all] So that none shall hinder their hap­pinesse.

Verse 23. All have sinned] The first man defiled the nature, and ever since the nature defileth the man. Adam was a parent, a publike person, a Parliament man, as it were; the whole country of mankinde was in him, and fell with him.

Short of the glory of God] i. e. Of his image now obliterated, or of his kingdome, upon the golden pavement whereof no dirty dog must ever trample. It is an inheritance undefiled, 1 Pet. 1.4.

Verse 24. Being justified freely] Because the Apostles word [...], is expounded by Varinus to be [...], therefore Thammerus will needs conclude from this text, that God by ju­stifying us, doth but pay us for our pains, give us what we have ear­ned. Coelum gratis non accipiam, saith Vega. Opera bona sunt Coeli mercatura, saith another. Heaven is the purchase of good works.

By the redemption] That is, By faith applying this redem­ption, wrapping her self in the golden Fleece of that Lamb of God.

Verse 25. To be a propitiation] Or a covering, in allusion to the Law; where the Ark covering the two Tables within it, the Mercy-seat covering the Ark, and the Cherubims covering the Mercy-seat and one another, shew'd Christ covering the curses of the Law, in whom is the ground of all mercy; which things the Angels desire to pry into, as into the paterne of Gods deep wisdome.

For the remission of sins] Gr. For the relaxation or releasment of sins, [...]. as of bonds or fetters.

Verse 26. [...]. To declare] Gr. For a clear demonstration or point­ing out with the finger.

Verse 27. Where is boasting then, &c.] A certain sophister [Page 13]would hence prove the authority of the Church: He read the words thus, by a mistake of their short-hand-writing, Ʋbi est gloriatio [...]? Ecclesia est, for exclusa est.

Verse 28. A man is justified by faith] Here S^t Paul shews himself a pure Lutheran, and is therefore sharply and blasphemous­ly censured by some Jesuites for a hot-headed person, who was so transported with the pangs of zeal and eagernesse beyond all com­passe in most of his disputes, that there was no great reckoning to be made of his Assertions. Yea, he was dangerous to read,Speculum Eu­ropae. as sa­vouring of heresie in some places, and better perhaps he had never written. Four years before the Councel of Trent, Cardinal Con­turenus, asserted the doctrine of justification by faith alone, in a just tractate, and was therefore soon after poisoned. Cardinal Pool is thought to have been sound in this point. Bellarmine re­proves Pighius for consenting to Luther herein, whom he under­took to confute: and yet Bellarmine himself with his tutissimum­est, doth as much upon the matter. Magna est veritas & valebit, Great is the truth, and shall prevail.

Verse 29. Is he the God of the Jews only] That is, Doth he justifie the Jews only? For he is their God only, whom he justifieth. [...] Now men are said to be justified effectively by God, apprehensively by faith, declaratively by good works. The School-men are very un­sound in this capitall Article of Justification, and are therefore the lesse to be regarded. Nam quae de gratia Dei justificante scolasti­ci scribunt, commentitia universa existimo, saith Cardinal Pighi­us, who is therefore much condemned by Bellarmine, but with­out cause.

Verse 30. And uncircumcision] All by one way, lest he should seem not to be one, but alius & alius.

Verse 31. We establish the law] Which yet the Antinomians cry down, calling repentance a legall grace, humiliation a back­dore to heaven; grieving that they have grieved so much for their sins, &c.

CHAP. IV. Verse 1. As pertaining to the flesh.]

THat is, As touching his works, v. 2. called also the letter, cha. 2.27. and the Law a carnall commandment, Heb. 7.16.

Verse 2. But not before God] Who when he begins to search our lacks, as the steward did Benjamins, can finde out those out theeveries that we thought not of; bring to minde and light those sins that we had forgot, or not observed. When he comes to turn the bottome of the bag upwards, it will be bitter with us. Abime­lech's excuse was accepted, and yet his sinne was chastised, Gen. 20.6.

Verse 3. Abraham beleeved God] Latomus of Lovan was not ashamed to write, That there was no other faith in Abraham, then what was in Cicero. Joh. Manlij loc. conc. p. 490. And yet our Saviour saith, Abraham saw my day, and rejoyced, so did Cicero never. Another wrote an apology for Cicero, and would needs prove him to have been a pious and penitent person, because in one place he hath these words,Ibid. 481. Reprehendo peccata mea, quod Pompeio confisus, ejus (que) par [...]es secutus suerim. A poor proof: Hoc argumentum tam fa­cile diluitur, quàm vulpes comest pyrum.

Verse 4. Now to him that worketh] Yet it is an act of mercy in God to render to a man according to his works, Ps. 62.12. Exo. 206. Gods kingdom is not partum, but paratum, Mat. 25.34. not acquired, but prepared.

But of debt] Not so indeed, Rom. 11.31. but according to the opinion of the merit-monger, who saith as Vega, Coelum gratis non accipiam.

Verse 5. His faith] Yet not as a work, nor in a proper sense, [...]. as Arminius and Bertius held, but as an act of receiving Christ.

Verse 6. Ʋnto whom God imputeth] Ten times the Apostle mentioneth this grace of imputed righteousnesse in this Chapter: Yet the Papists jear it, calling it putative righteousnesse, so speak­ing evil of the things they know not.Manlij loe. com. p. 494. Stories tell us of a Popish Bishop that lighting by chance upon this Chapter, threw away the book in great displeasure, and said O Paule, an tu quo (que) Luthe­anus sactus es? Art thou also a Lutheran, Paul? But if the faith of another may be profitable to infants at their baptisme, as Bel­larmine holdeth, why should it seem so absurd a thing, that Christs righteousnesse imputed, should profit those that beleeve on him? The Jews indeed at this day being asked, Whether they beleeve to be saved by Christs righteousnesse? They answer, That every Fox must pay his own skin to the flaier. Thus they reject the righte­ousnesse of God, Rom. 10.3. As their Fathers did, so doe they, [Page 15] Act. 7.51. The Lord open their eyes, that they may convert and be saved.

Verse 7. Are covered] Sic velantur ut in judicio non reve­lentur: So covered as that he never see them again, but as the Is­raclites saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.

Verse 8. Imputeth not] Chargeth it not, setteth it not upon his score, 2 Cor. 5.19.

Verse 9. Cometh this blessednesse] This is the third time that the Apostle avoucheth the universality of the subject of justifica­tion. For this he had done once before, Chap. 3.23. and again, cha. 3.29 30, 31.

Verse 10. In circumcisi [...]n] As the Jew would have it: No such matter.

Verse 11. A seal of the righteousnesse] Circumcision is cal­led a sign, and a [...]eal by a Dectour of the Jews, more ancient then their Talmud. Zohar, Gen. 17.

That righteousnesse might be imputed] How foolish is that inference of Thammerus, [...]. that because the word here used to signi­fie imputed, comes of a word that signifies reason, therefore the righteousnes of faith must be such as a man may understand and comprehend by reason?

Verse 12. Walk in the steps] That herein personate and ex­presse him to the life, as Constantines children (saith Eusebius) did their father.

Verse 13. Heir of the world] That is, Of heaven, say some; [...] of Canaan, say others, the pleasant Land, more esteemed of God, then all the world besides, because it was the seat of the Church. As man is called every creature, Mark 16.15. the Church is cal­led all things, Col. 1. So Canaan is called the world, and Tabor and Hermon, put for the East and West of the whole world, Psal. 89.12.

Verse 14. Faith is made void] See the Note on Gal. 3.12. and 5.2.

Verse 15. No transgression] sc. Is imputed by men where there is no law written, See Chap. 5.13.

Verse 16. It is of faith] Fides mendicâ manu.

Verse 17. Who quickneth the dead] As he doth, when he ma­keth a man a beleever, Ephes. 1.19. he fetcheth heart of Oak out of a hollow tree, and a spirituall man out of a wilde-asse-colt. See both these metaphors, Job 11, 12.

Verse 18. Who against hope, &c.] Elegans antunaclasis pro­pter speciem contradictionis, saith Piscator. Spes in terrenis, in­certi nomen boni: spes in divinis, nomen est certissimi, saith another.

Verse 19. [...]. He considered not] Gr. He cared not for his own bo­dy, &c. he never thought of that.

Verse 20. Giving glory to God] Confessing and exalting God, as Luk. 17.18 giving him a testimoniall, as it were, Ioh. 3.33. with Deut. 32.4.

Verse 21. [...]. Being fully perswaded] Gr. Being carried on with full sail, and going gallantly towards heaven.

Verse 22. See the Note on Vers. 5, 6.

Verse 23. For his sake alone] But for our instruction and en­couragement, Rom 15.4. See the Note there.

Verse 24. That raised up Iesus] And with him all beleevers Col. 3.1. Rom. 6.4.

Verse 25. Who was delivered, &c.] Not that his death had no hand in our justifying: but because our justification begun in his death, [...] was perfected by his resurrection. Redemption we have by Christs abasement, application of it by his advancement. This one verse is an abridgement of the whole Gospel, the summe of all the good news in the world. The grand inquest of all the an­cient Prophets, 1 Pet. 1.11. Adore we the fulnesse of the holy Scriptures.

CHAP. V. Verse 1. Being justified by faith.]

AS he had said, Chap. 4.24.

We have peace with God] A blessed calm lodged in our consciences: Like as when Ionas was cast overboard, there follow­ed a tranquillity.

Verse 2. [...]. We have accesse] Christ leading us by the hand, and presenting us to the Father, with, Behold, here am I, and the chil­dren whom thou hast given me, Ephes. 2.18.

Verse 3. We glory in tribulations] As an old souldier doth in his scars of honour. See Gal. 6, 17. 2 Cor. 7.4.

Verse 4. And experience, hope] Without hope patience is cold almost in the fourth degree, and that is but a little from poison.

Verse 5. Hope maketh not ashamed] As among men, many lie languishing at Hopes hospitall, as he did at the Pool of Bethes­da, Joh. 5. and return as they did from the brooks of Tema, Job 6.17. Or, as men goe to a Lottery with heads full of hopes, but return with hearts full of blanks. The Dutch have a Proverb to this purpose, Sperare & expectare, multos reddit stultos. And we say, He that hopes for dead mens shoes may hap go bare-foot. Bad mens hopes may hop headlesle, they may perish in the height of their expectancies. Not so those that hope in God: they shall yet praise him who is the help of their countenance, and their God, Ps. 43 ult. Nunquam confusi, Deo confisi.

Verse 6. Christ died for] A sufficient evidence of Gods dear­est and deepest love shed abroad in our hearts, as a most sweet ointment.

Verse 7. Yet per adventure for a good man] For a publike per­son. Lilloe stept between the murderer and King Edwin his ma­ster to intercept the deadly thrust.Speeds Chron, lib 7. cap. 20. Life of K Ed. 6 pag 37. Turk hist fol. 730. A common souldier lost his life at Musselborough field to save the Earl of Huntlies life: so did Nicolas Ribische to rescue Prince Maurice at the siege of Pista.

Verse 8. God commendeth, &c.] Herein God laies naked to us, the tenderest bowels of his fatherly compassions, as in an anatomy.

Verse 9. Much more then] It is a greater work of God to bring men to grace, then being in the state of grace, [...] to bring them to glory; because sin is far more distant from grace, then grace is from glory.

Verse 10. We shall be saved] Here the Apostle reasoneth from regeneration to eternall life, as the lesser.

Verse 11. Not only so] Not in tribulation only do we glory (as v. 3.) but in the whole course of our lives.

Verse 12. As by one man] Yet Anabaptists deny originall sin, as did also the Pelag [...]ans of old, consuted by Augustine. Egranus a German Preacher said (as Melancthon reporteth) that original sin is a meer fiction of Augustine, and other Divines; and that,Joh. Manl loc. com. pag. 486. because there was no such word found in the Scriptures. Papists say that originall sin is the smallest of all sins, not deserving any more of Gods wrath, then only a want of his beatificall-presence: and that too, without any pain or sorrow of minde from the ap­prehension of so great a losse. There have been amongst us, that [Page 18]have said, that originall sin is not forbidden by the Law. Direct­ly indeed,Moulins Ana­ton. Armin c 8. Wotton on Joh. p 146. and immediately it is not: but forbidden it is, because cursed and condemned by the Law. In originall sin is a tacite con­sent (eminently) to all actuall sin. And some understand this text of all sin, both originall and actuall.

And so death passed upon all men] As a sentence of death on a condemned malefactour 1 or, [...]. as those diseases that are called by Physitians, Corruptio totius substantiae; or as the rot overrunneth the whole flock.

Verse 13. Sinne is not imputed] In mens esteem, as Chap. 4 15.

Verse 14. Death raigned] From the raign of death, he con­cludes the raign of sin. Infants are no innocents: the first sheet or blanket wherein they are covered is woven of sin, shame, bloud and filth, Ezek. 16.4.6.

Verse 15. Many be dead] Many is here put for all, as all for many, 1 Tim. 2.3.

Verse 16. Of many [...]ffences] i.e. Of all, whether imputed to us, inherent in us, or issuing from us.

Verse 17. Abundance] That is, abundant grace.

Verse 18. By the offence of one] We were all in Adam, as the whole countrey in a Parliament-man. And although we chose not, God chose for us.

Verse 19. [...] Many] That is, All, except Christ, sinners, tainted with sins, guilt and filth.

Verse 20. But where sin abounded] But then it is where sinne that abounded in the life, abounds in the conscience in grief and de­testation of it,Act. and Mon. fol 1 [...]30. as the greatest evil. Bonner objected to M^r Philpot, Marytyr, that he found written in his book, In me Joanne Philpot­to ubi abundavit peccatum, superabundavit & gratia. This he said was an arrogant speech, Novum crimen, C. Caesar.

Verse 21. That as sin hath raigned] That is, the wrath of God by sin.

Through righteousnes] Imputed and imparted.

By J [...]sus Christ] See how sweetly the end answers the begin­ning of the Chapter, and how Christ is both authour and finish­er, &c.

CHAP. VI. Verse 1. Shall we continue]

QƲasi dicat, That were most unreasonable, and to an ingeni­ous nature, impossible. To argue from mercy to liberty is the devils Logick. Should we not after deliverance yeeld obedience, said holy Ezra? Chap. 9.13, 14. A man may as truly say, the sea burns, or fire cools, as that certainty of salvation breeds security and loosnesse.

Verse 2. Live any longer therein] Fall into it we may and shall: but it is not the falling into the water that drowns, but ly­ing in it: so it is not falling into sinne that damns, but living in it.

Verse 3. Baptized into his death] Hoc est baptizaripro mor­tuis, saith Beza, to be buried with Christ in baptisme, Col 2.12. in putting off the body of the sinnes of the flesh verse 11.

Verse 4. We are buried] Buriall is a continuing under death; so is mortification a continuate dying to sinne, Mors quaedam perpetuata; Sin is by degrees abated, and at length abolished, when once our earthly tabernacles are dissolved.

Walk in newnesse of life] Resurrectione Domini configuratur vita, quae hic geritur. Walk as Christ walked after his resurre­ction.

Verse 5. For if we have been planted] Burying is a kinde of planting.

Verse 6. The body of sin] For whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil.

Verse 7. Is freed from sin] Anacreon saith the like, [...]; Death is the accomplishment of mortification. It doth at once, what death doth by degrees. Herbs and flowers breed worms, which yet at last kill the herbs and flowers: So sinne bred death: but at last death will kill sin. A mud-wall whiles it stand­eth, harboureth much vermine; which when it falleth, flee away: So doth corruption, when once these cottages of clay fall to ruine.

Verse 8. We shall also live] Then we are said properly to live, when our regeneration is perfected in heaven. To live here, is but to lie a dying.

Verse 9. Death hath no more, &c.] Christ, being life essenti­all, swallowed up death in victory, as the fire swalloweth up the fuell, and as Moses his serpent swallowed up the Sorcerers serpents.

Verse 10. He died unto sinne] That is, To abolish sinne, as Chap. 8.2.

Verse 11. Reckon ye also] By faith, reason and reckon your selves wholly dead in and through Christ, who once died perfectly to sin, as a common person.

Verse 12. Let not sin therefore] As if the Apostle should say, we preach purity and not liberty, as the adversary suggesteth, v. 1. of this Chapter with Chap. 3.8.

Verse 13. Ʋnto sinne] As Satans Generall, who hath his trenches, 2 Cor. 10.4. His Commanders, as here, and his fighting souldiers, 1 Pet. 2.11. His weapons, as here.

Verse 14. Sinne shall not have dominion] Rebell it may, but raign it shall not in any Saint. It fareth with sin in the regenerate, as with those beasts, Dan. 7.12. they had their dominion ta­ken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Ye are not under the Law] i.e. Under the rigour, irritation, curse of the Law, Quatenùs est virtus peccati.

Verse 15. Shall we sinne, because, &c.] Some Antinomian Libertines would perswade men, That God is never displeased with his people,See M. Cala­mies Serm. to the house of Cummons, Octob. 22 an, Dam. 1644. though they fall into adultery, or the like sin, no not with a fatherly displeasure: That God never chastiseth his people for any sin, no not with a fatherly chastisement.

Verse 16. His sevants ye are] Sinners, though not drunk, yet are not their own men, but at Satans beck and check, whom they seem to defie, but indeed deifie.

Verse 17. That form of doctrine] Gr. That type or mould; The Doctrine is the mould, hearers the mettall, which takes im­pression from it in one part, as well as another. And as the met­tall hath been sufficiently in the furnace, when it's not only purg­ed from the drosse, but willingly receiveth the form and figure of that which it is cast and poured into: so here.

Verse 18. Versus est planus, saith Pareus.

Verse 19. After the manner of men] That is vulgarly, Cras­siùs & rudiùs loquor, by a similitude drawn from humane affairs of easie and ordinary observation.

To uncleannesse, and to iniquity] Mark the opposition: there are three To's in the expression of the service to sin: but in the ser­vice of God only two. Wicked men take great pains for hell: would they but take the same for heaven, they could not, likely, misse of it.

Verse 20. Free from righteousnesse] That is, Utterly void of grace, and did therefore sin lustily and horribly, earnestly opposing with crest and brest, whatsoever stood in the way of their sinnes and lusts.

Verse 21. Whereof ye are ashamed] Where sin is in the saddle, shame is on the crupper. Men would have the sweet, but not the shame of sinne, and the credit of religion, but not goe to the cost of it.

Verse 22. Become servants to God] Phrasis vulgatissima est, Deum colere. Non secùs at (que) agri fertiles inprimis & optimi, sic Deicultus, fructus fert at vitam aeternam uberrimos.

Ye have your fruit unto holines] Every good work encreaseth our holines, and so hability for obedience.

Verse 23. For the wages of sin] The best largesse or congiary that sin gives to his souldiers, is death of all sorts. [...]. This is the just hire of the least sin. The Jesuites would perswade us, that some sins against which the Law thundereth and lightneth,Chemnit. de thoel. Iesuitar. are so light in their own nature, Ʋt factores nec sordidos, nec malos, nec im­pios, nec Deo exosos reddere possint. But as there is the same roundnesse in a little ball, as in a great one: so the same disobedi­ence in a small sin, as in a greater. Indeed there is no sin little, be­cause no little God to sin against.

CHAP. VII. Verse 1. Know ye not Brethren]

BEllarmine saith of his Romans (more true perhaps of these) Romani sicut non acumina, ita nec imposturas habent. As they are not very knowing, so not cunning to deceive.

Verse 2. She is loosed, &c.] And so at liberty to marry a­gain, though Hierom compare such to the unclean beasts in the Arke, and to vessels of dishonour in an house, yea to dogs that return to their vomit, which was his errour. Patres legendi cum veniâ, saith one.

Verse 3.M. Edwards his Gange. par. 2. p. 141. So then if] The Sectaries then are out, that say now-a-daies, that if they have husbands and wives that will not turn Saints, that is Sectaries, they may leave them, and mar­ry others.

Verse 4. That we should bring forth fruit] The Ministery of the Word, saith one, is the bridall-bed; wherein God by his Spi­rit doth communicate with our souls his sweetest favours, and maketh them be conceived with fruits of righteousnesse to ever­lasting life.

Verse 5. [...]. In the flesh] In our pure naturals.

The motions of sin] Those maladies of the soul.

By the law] By the irritation of the law.

Did work] Gr. D [...]d inwardly work. [...].

Verse 6. Not in the oldnesse of the letter] That is, Not in that old kinde of life that we lived under subjection to the law, to the ir­ritation, coaction, and curse of it.

Verse 7. I had not known lust] Involuntary evil motions. The Apostle calleth concupiscence sin, saith Possevine the Jesuite: but we may not say so.Possevin. Apparal sa [...] verbo. Pat. An­tiq. Most of the most dangerous opinions of Po­pery spring from hence, that they have slight conceits of concupis­cence, as a condition of nature. But inward bleeding will kill a man, so will concupiscence, if not bewailed. The Councel of Trent saith, That it is not truly and properly a sin, albeit it be so called, because it proceeds from sin, and enclines a man to sinne. Neither want there amongst us that say, That originall sinne is not forbidden by the law: Directly indeed, and immediately it is not: but forbidden it is, because cursed and condemned by the law.

Verse 8. By the commandment] Not Commandments. Pa­pists abolishing, or at least destroying the sense of the second Com­mandment by making it a member of the first, that they may re­tain the number of ten words (so loth are heretikes to have their Asses ears seen) they divide this last; which yet Paul here cals the Commandment; and sure he knew better then they, the Analysis of the law.

Verse 9. For I was alive] As being without sense of sin, and conscience of duty.

Sin revived] sc. In sense and appearance.

And I died] sc. In pride and self justice.

Verse 10. Ordained to life] By life and death, understand peace and perturbation.

Verse 11. Deceived me] Irritated my corrupt nature, and made me sin the more, per accidens, as Pharaoh was the worse for a message of dismission.

Verse 12. The Commandement] Vis legis in mandan­do & praecipiendo. [...]. The word properly signifieth an affirmative precept.

Verse 13. Exceeding sinsull] Sin is so evil that it cannot have a worse Epithite given it. Paul can call it no worse then by it's own name, sinfull sin.

Verse 14. Sold under sin] But yet ill-apaid of my slavery, and lusting after liberty.

Verse 15. I allow not] Gr. I know not, as being preoccupated, [...]. Gal. 6.1. wherried and whirled away by sin before I am aware, or have time to consider.

Verse 16. I consent unto the law] I vote with it, and for it, as the rule of right, I wish also well to the observance of it, as David did, Psal. 119 4.5.

Verse 17. It is no more I] M^r Bradford Martyr, in a certain Letter thus comforteth his friend; At this present, my dear heart in the Lord, you are in a blessed estate;Act. and Mon. fol. 1497. although it seem otherwise to you, or rather to your old Adam; the which I dare now be bold to discern from you, because you would have it not only dis­cerned, but also utterly destroyed.M. Harris. Sam. Fun. God (saith another reverend man) puts a difference between us, and sin in us, as betwixt poi­son, and the box that holds it.

Sin that dwelleth in me] An ill inmate that will not out, till the house falleth on the head of it. As the fretting leprosie in the walls of an house would not out, till the house it self were demoli­shed. Sin, as Hagar will dwell with grace, as Sarah, till death beat it out of doors.

Verse 18. Dwelleth no good thing] Horreo quicquid de meo est, ut sim meus, saith Bernard. It was no ill wish of him that desired God to free him from an ill man, himself. For,Domine, libera me à malo bo­mine meipse. though engraffed into Christ, yet we carry about us a relish of the old stock still. Corruption is though dejected from it's regency, yet not e­jected from it's inherency: It intermingleth with our best workes.

How to perform] Gr. To do it thorowly; [...]. though I am doing at it, as I can.

Verse 19. For the good, &c.] Nature, like Eve and Jobs wife [Page 24]is alwaies drawing us from God. As the ferry-man plies the oar, and eyes the shore homeward, where he would be, yet there comes a gust of winde that carries him back again: so it is with a Christi­an. Corruption edg'd with a temptation, gets as it were the hill, and the winde, and, upon such advantages, too oft pre­vaileth.

Verse 20. It is no more I] Every new man is two men. See the Note above on Vers. 17.

Verse 21.Tota vita bani Christiani san­ctum desiderti [...] est. Aug. When I would doe good] Something lay at the foun­tain head, as it were, and stopt him when he would do his duty. But God valueth a man by his desires.

Evil is present] We can stay no more from sinning, then the heart can from panting, and the pulse from beating. Our lives are fuller of sins then the firmament of starres, or the furnace of sparks. Erasmus was utterly out, that said with Origen, Pau­lum hoc sermone balbutire, quum ipse potiùs ineptiat, saith lear­ned Beza. So Joannes Sylvius Aegranus, a learned, but a pro­phane person, reprehended Paul for want of learning, and said, Quòd usus sit declamatorijs verbis, non congr [...]ntibus ad rem [...], &c.Joh. Manl. loc. com. 165, 486. Nominabat sophisma, quod diceremus homines non posse im­plere legem, &c.

Verse 22. I delight] Germanicus reigned in the Romans hearts, Tiberius but in the Provinces. So here.

Verse 23. A law in my members] Called the deeds of the bo­dy, Rom. 8.13. [...]. Pla [...]o [...] appellat. Phoedro. because corruption acteth and uttereth it self by the m [...]mbers of the body. The [...] (vox Empedoclea) is within, but easily and often budgeth and breaketh out.

Warring against the law] The regenerate part. Plato in Cra­tylo pulchre ait: Ʋt mentem appellamus [...], ita legem dicimus [...], quasi [...], alioqui mens hominum vagatur.

And bringing me into captivity] The sins of the Saints (those of daily incursion) are either of precipitancy,D. Preston. as Gal. 6.1. or of infirmity, when a man wrestles, and hath some time to fight it out, but for want of breath and strength, fals, and is in some captivity to the law of sin. This is the worse.

Verse 24. O wretched man] We must discontentedly be con­tented to be exercised with sin, while we are here. It is so bred in the bone, that till our bones, as Josephs, be carried out of the Egypt of this world, it will not out. The Romans so conquered Chosroes the Persian, [...]. that he made a law, that never any King of [Page 25] Persia should move warre against the Romans. But let us do what we can to subdue sin, it will be a Jebu [...]te, a false borderer, yea, a rank traitour rebelling against the Spirit. Only this we may take for a comfortable sign of future victory, when we are discontent with our present ill estate. Grace will get the upper hand, as na­ture doth, when the humours are disturbed, and after many fits. And as till then there is no rest to the body: so neither is there to the soul.

Who shall deliver me] Nothing cleaves more pertinaciously, or is more inexpugnable then a strong lust.

From this body of death] Or, this dead body, by an H [...]braisme, this carcase of sin to which I am tied and lungold: as noi [...]ome every whit to my soul, as a dead body to my senses; and as burdensome, as a withered arm, or mortified lim, which hangs on a man, as a lump of lead.

Verse 25. I think God, &c.] The Grecians being delivered but from bodily servitude by Flaminias the Roman [...]enerall, called him their Saviour: and so rang out, Saviour, Saviour, Plutarch. that the Fowls in the a [...]r fell down dead with the cry. How much greater cause have we to magnifie the grace of Christ, &c.

So then, with the minde, &c.] The stars by their proper moti­on are carried from the West to the East: And yet by the motion of obedience to the first mover, they passe along from the East un­to the West. The waters by their naturall course follow the cen­ter of the earth, yet yeelding to the Moon, they are subject to her motions: So are Saints to Gods holy will, though corrupt nature repine and resist.

CHAP. VIII. Verse 1. There is therefore now]

NOw, after such bloudy wounds and gashes, chronicled Chap. 7. Though carried captive, and sold under sin, yet not con­demned, as might well have been expected. This the Apostle doth here worthily admire.

Verse 2. For the Law of the Spirit] That is, Christ revived and risen hath justified me. See the Note on Chap. 4.25.

Verse 3. It was weak through the flesh] Which was irritated by the law, and took occasion thereby.

Verse 4. Might be fulfilled] In us applicativè, in Christ in­haesivè.

Verse 5. Doe minde the things] For want of a better princi­ple. The stream riseth not above the spring.

Verse 6. [...]. To be carnally] The quintessence of the fleshes witi­nesse, or rather wickednesse.

Verse 7. [...]. Because the carnall minde] The best of a bad man, is not only averse, but utterly adverse to all goodnesse. Homo est in­versus decalogus, Job 11.12. an asses soal for rudenes, a wilde as­ses for unrulines.

Verse 8. Cannot please God] Their best works are but dead works, saith the Authour to the Hebrews; but silken sins, saith Au­gustine. Lombard citeth that Father,De ver inro­cent. cap. 56. saying thus, Omnis vitae infid lium peccatum est: & nihil bonum sine summo bono. The whole life of unbelievers is sin; neither is there any thing good without the chiefest good. Ambrose Spiera a Popish Postiller, cen­sureth this for a bloudy sentence, Crudelis est illa sententia, saith he.

Verse 9. He is none of his] As the Merchant sets his seal upon his goods: So doth God his Spirit upon all his people, Ephes. 1.13.

Verse 10. The body is dead] Death to the Saints is neither to­tall, but of the body only, nor perpetuall, but for a season only, vers. 11.

Verse 11. Your mortall bodies] As he hath already quickned your souls.

Verse 12. Not to the flesh] We owe the flesh nothing but stripes, nothing but the blew eye that S^t Paul gave it. It must be mastered and mortified. Drive this Hagar out of doors, when once it grows haunty.

Verse 13. If ye live after the flesh] We must not think to passe è coeno ad Coelum, to dance with the devil all day, and sup with Christ at night, to fly to heaven with pleasant wings. Beetles love dunghils better then ointments: and swine love mud better then a garden, so do swinish people their lusts, better then the lives of their souls.Horat ep. 2. At Paris ut vivat regnet (que) beatus, Cogi posse negat. That carnall Cardinall said, That he would not part with his part in Paris for Paradise.

But if ye mortifie the deeds, &c.] Either a man must kill here, or be killed,Camdens Elis. Aut for, aut feri, as Q. Elizabeth often sighed and [Page 27]said to her self concerning the Queen of Scots. Valentinian the Emperour dying, gloried of one victory above the rest, and that was his victory over the flesh. Inimicorum nequissimum devici, carnem meam, said he. Be alwaies an enemy to the devil,In vita Valen­tin. and the world, but specially to your own flesh, said Rob. Smith, Martyr, in a letter to his wife.Act. and Mon. fol. 1545.

Verse 14. For as many as are led] As great men suffer their sons to go along with them, but set tutours to overlook and order them: So dealeth God by his; the Spirit leadeth them into all goodnesse, righteousnesse and truth, Ephes. 5.9, and fetcheth them again in their cu [...]straies.

Verse 15. The spirit of bondage] [...], as 2 Tim. 1.7. [...] The law will convince the judgement: but 'tis the Gospel that convinceth the lust and the affection, and so sendeth us to treat with God as a Father, by fervent praier.

Verse 16. Beareth witnesse] What an honour is this to the Saints, that the holy Ghost should bear witnes at the bar of their consciences.

Verse 17. And if sonnes, then heirs] All Gods sons are heirs; not so the sons of earthly Princes. Jehoshaphat gave his younger sons great gifts of silver, of gold, and of precious things, with fen­ced Cities in Jud [...]h; but the Kingdom gave he to Jehoram, be­cause he was the first-born, 2 Chron. 21.3. Gods children are all higher then the Kings of the earth, Ps. 89 27.

Verse 18. Are not worthy to be, &c.] Heaven will pay for all: hold out therefore faith and patience. When Saul had the Kingdom, some despised him, but he held his peace, though a man afterwards froward enough. What is a drop of vinegar put into an ocean of wine? What is it for one to have a rainy day, who is going to take possession of a kingdom. Pericula non resp [...]cit. Martyr, coronas respicit, saith Basil. A Dutch martyr seeing the flame to come to his beard, Ah, said he, what a small pain is this to be compared to the glory to come?Act. and Mon. 813.

Verse 19. For the earnest expectation] Gr. The intent expe­ctation of the creature expecteth; an hebrew pleonasme, and withall, a metaphor either from birds that thrust a long neck out of a Cage, as labouring for liberty; or else from those that ear­nestly look and long for some speciall friends coming, as Sisera's mother, who looked out at a window, and cried thorow the lattesse, Why is his charet so long in coming? Judg. 5.28.

Verse 20. Subject to vanity] The creature is defiled by mans sin, and must therefore be purged by the fire of the last day; as the vessels that held the sin-offering were purged by the fire of the San­ctuary.

Verse 21. Because the creature it self] See M^r Wilcox his Discourse upon these words, printed together with his Exposition of the Psalms, Proverbs, &c. in Folio.

Verse 22. The whole creature groneth] Even the very hea­vens are not without their feeblenesse, and the manifest effects of fainting old-age. It is observed that since the daies of Ptolomy the Sun runs nearer the earth by 9976. Germane miles; and therefore the heavens have not kept their first perfection.

Verse 23. The first fruits] Which the creatures have not, and yet they grone, how much more we?

The redemption] Our full and finall deliverance.

Verse 24 For we are saved by hope] Hope is the daughter of faith, but such as is a staff to her aged mother.

Verse 25. Then do we with patience] Religious men finde it more easie to bear evil, then to wait till the promised good be en­joyed, Heb. 10 36. The spoiling of their goods required patience; but this, more then ordinary.

Verse 26. [...]. Beza. Pareus. Helpeth our infirmities] Lifts with us, and be fore us in our praiers: Or helpeth us, as the Nurse helpeth her little childe, upholding it by the sleeve.

For we know not what, &c.] The flesh with her murmurings maketh such a din,Da. Dike. that we can hardly hear the voice of the spirit, mixing with the fl [...]shes roarings and repinings, his praying, sighes and sobbings.

But the Spirit it self] Praier is the breath of the Spirit, who doth superexpostulate for us, [...]. enditing our praiers. We cannot so much as suspirare, unlesse he do first inspirare, breathe out a sigh for sin, if he breathe it not into us.

With groanings that cannot be uttered] He that would have unspeakable joy, 1 Pet. 1.8. must by the Spirit stirre up unutterable groanings.

Verse 27.Aug. Knoweth the minde, &c.] Quomodo enim non ex­auditur spiritus à patre, qui exaudit cum patre?

Verse 28. All things work together] Not affliction only (as some would here restrain it) but sin,De benef. lib. 2. c. 18. Satan, all. Venenum ali­quando pro remedio suit, saith Seneca. Medici pedes & alas Can­tharidis, [Page 29]cum sit ipsa mortifera, prodesse dicunt. Plut. The drinking of that wine wherein a viper hath been drowned, cureth the leprosie. The Scorpion healeth his own wounds: and the viper (the head and tail being cut off) beaten and applied, cureth her own biting. God changeth our grisly wounds into spangles of beauty: and maketh the horrible sting of Satan to be like a pearl-pin, to pin up­on us the long white robe of Christ, and to dresse us with the gar­ment of gladnes.

Verse 29. Conformed to the image] In holines, say some; in glory, say others, in affliction is the Apostles meaning.Plus. in Apoph­theg. Art not thou glad to fare as Phocion? said he to one that was to die with him. May not Christ better say so to his co-sufferers?

Verse 30. Them also he called, &c.] If ye feel not faith (said that holy Martyr) then know that predestination is too high a matter for you to be disputers of, untill you have been better scho­lars in the School-house of repentance and justification,Bradsord. Ac [...] and Mon. fol. 1505. which is the Grammer-school wherein we must be conversant and learned, before we goe to the university of Gods most holy predestination and providence.

Them he also justified] Vocation precedeth Justification. Deus justificat fide jam donatos, sicut damnat priùs induratos. Cameron,

Them he also glorified] That is, He keepeth them glorious by his glorious Spirit, even in this life, from impenitent sin, and ma­keth them stable and constant in godlines.

Verse 31. What shall we say then?] q. d. Predestination, Vo­cation, Justification, Glorification? What things be these? We cannot tell what to say to these things, so much we are amazed at the greatnes of Gods love in them. A brave conclusion of the whole disputation concerning justification by faith alone.

If God be for us &c.] Maximilian the Emperour so admired this sentence,Chytr [...]us in [...]uer. that he caused it to be set in Checker-work upon a Table, at which he used to dine and sup: that having it so often in his eye, he might alway have it in minde also.

Verse 32. He that spared not] Qui misit unigenitum, immisit spiritum, promisit vultum, quid tandem tibi negaturus est? saith Bernard. Nihil unquam ei negasse credendum est, quem ad vituli hortatur esum, saith Hierom. Bern de temp.

Verse 33. Who shall lay any thing] This is that confident inter­rogatory of a good conscience, 1 Pet. 3.21. [...].

It is God that justifieth] Some reade it questionwise thus, Shall [Page 30]God that justifieth? No such matter. And if the Judge acquit a prisoner, he cares not though the Jailer or fellow-prisoners condemn him: So here.

Verse 34. Who is he that condemneth?] To the sentence of death he opposeth Christ his death.

Who is even at the right hand] And as Christ is at the right hand of his Father: so is the Church at the right hand of Christ, Ps. 45.10 a place of dignity and safety.

Verse 35. Who shall separate us] Who shall separate me? saith the Syriack.

Verse 36. We are killed all the day] In Dioclesians daies 17000 Christians are said to have been slain in the space of a moneth: In the Parisian Massacre 30000 in as little space, and within the year 300000.

As sheep to the slaughter] That lamentable story of the Chri­stians of Calabria that suffered persecution, anno 1560. comes home to this text. For being all thrust up in one house together, as in a sheep-fold,Act. and Mon. fol 859. the executioner comes in, and among them takes one and blinde-folds him with a muffler about his eyes, and so lead­eth him forth to a larger place, where he commandeth him to kneel down. Which being done, he cutteth his throat, and so lea­veth him half dead: and taking his butchers knife, and muffler all of gore bloud, he cometh again to the rest; and so leading them one after another, he dispatcheth them to the number of eighty eight, no otherwise then doth a butcher kill his calves and sheep.

Verse 37. [...]. We are more then Conquerours] What is that? Triumphers, 2 Cor. 2.14. We doe over-overcome: because through faith in Christ we overcome before we fight, and are secure of victory.

Verse 38. [...], scil. Ex verbi prae­dicatione essica­ci ut ind [...]at ta­citè hoc verbo. Beza. For I am perswaded] Or, I am sure by what I have heard out of Gods Word. He that hath this full assurance of faith goes gallantly to heaven. What (saith the world) should a rich man ail? The Irish ask such, What they mean to die? But I won­der more at such as have the riches of full assurance, yea, that have but the assurance of adherence, though not of evidence, what they mean to walk heavily. M^r Latimer saies, That the assurance of heaven is the sweet-meats of the feast of a good conscience: There are other dainty dishes in this feast, but this is the banquet.

Verse 39. From the love of God] viz. Wherewith he loved [Page 31]us. For he loveth his own to the end, and in the end, Joh. 13.1. See the Note there.Joh. Manlij, loc. com. The wife of Camerarius heard Sarcerius in­terpreting this text, and vers. 35. thus, and was much comforted after a sore conflict.

CHAP. IX. Verse 1. I say the truth, &c.]

AS any one is more assured of his own salvation, the more he desireth the salvation of others. Charity is no churl; as we see herein Paul.

Verse 2. Continuall sorrow] Such as a woman in travail hath. [...]. So Gal. 4 19.

Verse 3. Were accursed,] Devoted to destruction, as those malefactours among the Heathens were, that in time of common calamity were sacrificed to their infernall gods, [...]. for pacifying their displeasure, that the plague might cease. Out of greatest zeal to God, and love to his countrey-men, the Apostle wisheth himself Anathema, that is, not to be separated from the Spirit and grace of Christ (for so he should have sinned) but from the comforts of Christ, the happinesse that comes in by Christ, as one well inter­preteth it.

Verse 4. The adoption] For Israel was Gods first-born, and so higher then the Kings of the earth, Ps. 89 27.

And the glory] The Ark of the Covenant, 1 Sam. 4.21. whence Judea is called the glorious land, Dan. 11.41.

The Covenants] The morall law in two tables.

The giving of the law] The judiciall law.

The service] The ceremoniall law. [...]

The promises] Of the Gospel made to Abraham, and his seed for ever. These promises are a precious book, every lear whereof drops myrth and mercy.

Verse 5. Of whom is Christ] This is as great an honour to all mankinde (how much more to the Jews?) as if the King sh [...]uld marry into some poor family of his Subjects.

Verse 6. Not as though the word] That word of promise, v. 4. which is sure-hold, Ye [...] and Amen.

For they are not all Israel] Multi sacerdotes & panci sacer do­tes, saith Chrysostom, multi in nominc, & panci in opere. So here.

Verse 7. Neither because they are] This profiteth them no more then it did Dives, that Abraham called him Son.

Verse 8. The children of the promise] Abraham by belee­ving Gods promise, begat, after a sort, all beleevers, yea Christ himself, the head of his seed, his Son according to the flesh, but more according to the faith.

Verse 9. At this time] See the Note on Gen. 18.10.

Verse 10. But when Rebecca] She, and not Isaac is na­med, because she received the Oracle; whether from the mouth of Melchisedech, or some other way, I have not to determine.

Verse 11. For the children, &c.] Here the Apostle wadeth in­to that profundum sine fundo, Predestination.

Being not yet born] Sapores son of Misdates, King of Persia, began his raign before his life. For his father dying left his mother with childe, and the Persian Nobility set the Crown on his mo­thers belly, acknowledging thereby her issue for their Prince, be­fore she as yet had felt her self quick. God elects not of fore-seen faith or works, but of free-grace.

Verse 12. Shall serve] Servitude came in with a curse, and fi­gureth reprobation, Gen. 9 25. Joh. 8 34 35. Gal. 4.30.

Verse 13. Esau have I hated] i. e. I have not loved him, but passed him by: and this praecerition is properly opposed to e­lection.

Verse 14. Is there] Carnall reason dares reprehend what it does not comprehend.

Verse 15.Bonavent. in lib. 1. sent. dist. 41. [...] q. [...]. I will have mercy, &c.] Dei voluntas est ratio rati­onum, nec tantùm recta, sed regula.

Verse 16. So then it is not, &c.] Nec volentis, nec volantis (as a Noble-man gave it for his Motto) though a man could run as fast as a bird can fire.

Verse 17. Raised thee up] For a vessel of wrath, and an instance of my justice.

Verse 18. Therefore] God being a free agent, cannot be unjust: he is bound to none.

Verse 19. Why doth he yet finde fault?] Queritur, saith the Vulgar: which interpretation cozened Aquinas, as if it had been written Quaeritur. So Luk. 15.8. Gregory the great and others, for Everrit, reade Evertit: which mistake produced many groundlesse glos [...]es.

Verse 20. That repliest against God] Gr. That chattest and wordest it with him? [...].

Verse 21. Of the same lump] The Apostle alludeth to mans creation, and therehence ascendeth to Gods eternall decree of pre­destination.

Verse 22. Fitted to destruction] Non dicit Deum eos aptasse ad interitum, ne videretur dicere Deum eis indidisse peccatum, quo ad exitium praeparentur. Molinaeus in Anat. Armin.

Verse 23. And that he might] He rejected some, that his mercy might the more appear in the election of others.

Verse 24. Even us] Not me Paul only hath he assured of vocation, and so consequently of election to eternall life.

Verse 25. And her beloved] Jer. 12.7. God cals the Church, the beloved of his soul, or (as the Septuagint and Vulgar reade it) his beloved soul. [...].

Verse 26. The children, &c.] This is such a royalty, John 1.12. as the Apostle worthily wondereth at, and sets an Ecce upon it.

Verse 27. Aremnant] Reserved for royall use. Diaconos, pau­citas honorabiles fecit, saith Hierom: Sic & sanctos, say I.

Verse 28. A short work] When once he sets to work to cut off hypocrites.

Verse 29. Except the Lord of Sabaoth] That is, Of Hosts. God is Commander in chief of all creatures. The Rabbins well observe that he hath Magnleh Cheloth, and Matteh Cheloth, Kim [...]b [...], two generall troops, as his horse and foot, the upper and lower troops ready prest.

Verse 30. Which is of faith] Faith wraps it self in the righte­ousnes of Christ, and so justifieth us.

Verse 31. The law of righteousnes] That is, The righteousnes of the law.

Verse 32. For they stumbled] So they doe to this day.Jo. Fox Christ. Triumphans [...]pist. So do Papists and carnall Protestants. Non frustrà Lutherus in libris to­tiès vaticinatus videtur, sese vereri dictitans, ne se extincto ve­railla justificationis disciplina prorsus apud Christianos exolescat.

Verse 33. See the Note on 1 Pet. 2.6.

CHAP. X. Verse 1. My hearts desire]

SO it should be ours. See my True Treasure, Chapter 7. Sect. 2.

Verse 2. They have a zeal of God] So had those two Rabbins, David Rubenita, Alsted. Chron. 426. and Shelomoh Molchu that set upon the Empe­rour Charles the fift, to perswade him to Judaisme, and were therefore put to a cruell death, anno 1530. So had Latimer before his conversion: I was as obstinate a Papist, saith he, as any was in England: Insomuch that when I should be made Bachelour in Divinity, my whole Oration went against Philip Melancthon, and his opinions, &c. Being a Priest, and using to say Masse, he thought he had never sufficiently mingled his massing wine with water: and moreover that he should never be damned, if he were once a professed Frier;Act. and Mon. fol 1571. with divers such superstitious phantasies. Zeal without knowledge is as wilde-fire in a fools hand; it is like the devil in the demoniack, that casts him sometimes into the fire, and sometimes into the water.

Verse 3. For they being ignorant] The soul that is without knowledge is not good, and he that (without knowledge) hasteth with his feet, sinneth, Prov. 19.2. the faster he goeth, the farther he is out.

Verse 4. For Christ is the end, &c.] q. d. By, and for Christs sake, is the righteousnes of God. But the Jews submit not to Christ, therefore not to the righteousnes of God.

Verse 5. Shall live by them] This doe and live; that is, saith Luther, morere, die out of hand: for there is no man lives and sins not. We can as little cease to sin, as the pulse to beat, heart to pant, &c.

Verse 6. Say not in thine heart] The law preacheth faith in Christ, as well as the Gospel.

Verse 7. Into the deep] Those deeps of the earth, Ps. 71.20.

Verse 8. The word is nigh thee] Moses meant it of the law, but it more fitly agreeth to the Gospel. The Babe of Bethlehem is swathed up in the bands of both Testaments: he is authour, ob­ject, matter and mark of both. Therefore if we will profit in hear­ing, teaching, reading, we must have the eye of our mindes turned [Page 35]toward Christ, as the faces of the Cherubims were toward the Mercy-seat.

Verse 9. That if thou shalt confesse] That is, If thou shalt call upon the name of the Lord, as it is expounded, v. 13.

Verse 10. For with the heart, &c.] Pluturch tels us, that of all plants in Aegypt, Plut. de [...]side & Osiride. that they call Persica is consecrated to their goddesse Isis, and that for this reason, because the fruit of it is like an heart, the leaf like a tongue.

Verse 11. Shall not be ashamed] Maketh not haste, saith the Prophet. Shame and confusion follow haste and procipitancy: Sed Deo confisi nunquam confusi.

Verse 12. Is rich unto all, &c.] He cannot therefore be poor that can pray: for he shall have out his praier, either in money or moneys-worth.

Verse 13. Shall be saved] Though he misse of that particular mercy he asketh, he is certainly sealed up to salvation.

Verse 14. How shall they hear, &c.] The word read, is of divine use and efficacy: but of preaching we may say as David did of Go­liah's sword, There's none to that.

Verse 15. How beautifull are the jeet] How much more their faces? Surely I have seen thy face as the face of God, said Jacob to Esau, Gen. 33.10. that is, honourable and comfortable. We know how Cornelius received Peter; and the Galatians, Paul, till they were bewitched from him, Gal. 4.14. But it must be remembred that we glorifie the Word, not the Preacher, Act. 13.48.

Verse 16. Who hath beleeved our report!] Gr. Our hearing. [...] Passively taken. So Caesar and Cicero use auditio, for report and rumour. Some sit before a preacher as senslesse as the seats they sit on, pillars they lean to, dead bodies they tread on. Others rage, Tange montes & fumig abunt, &c.

Verse 17. By the word of God] That is, By the Word of Gods command sending out preachers gifted for the purpose, and saying to them, Goe. preach, &c.

Verse 18. Yes verily; their sound, &c.] Sonus, tonus. Da­vid saith only, Their line, Psal. 19.2. [...]. That accurate and artificiall frame of the heaven preacheth, as it were, the infinite wisdome and power of the Creatour. All Gods works are his Regij profes­sores, his Catholike Preachers, or reall Postilles (as one calleth them) of his Divinity. The world (saith Clem. Alex.) is Dei [Page 36]Scriptura, Gods great Bible with three great leaves, heaven, earth and hell.

Verse 19. Did not Israel know] sc. That the Gentiles were to be called? They were oft told it.

Verse 20. Is very bold] So that for his boldnes he was sawn a­sunder, saith Hierom.

Verse 21. Stretched] A metaphor from a mother.

CHAP. XI. Verse 1. I say then, Hath God, &c.]

AS I may seem to have said, Chap. 10. Ministers must doe their utmost to prevent mistakes. Zuinglius, when in his Sermons he had terrified the wicked, was wont to shut up with Bone vi [...], hoc nihil ad te, Thou good man, I mean not thee.

Verse 2. Saith of Elias] A man of such transcendent zeal, that to heighten the expression thereof, some have legended of him, that when he drew his mothers brests, he was seen to suck in fire.

Verse 3. And I am left alone] To withstand and reform the common corruptions. Some have commended it to our considera­tion, that from the first service in the Temple, when it was built, and the time of Eliah's Reformation, was about an hundred years: And from the Reformation in K. Edward the sixth's daies untill now, is about the same proportion of time.

Verse 4. The image of Baal] [...], to that Lady, as our modern Idolaters also call the virgin Mary, whom they despite with seeming honours.Sal [...]zar. Iesuita in Prov. 8.19. Ibid ad ver. 23. Ibid. ad ver. 29. They would perswade the world, that Christ by dying obeyed not his Father only, but his mother too, that she is the complement of the Trinity, that she intreateth not, but commandeth her Sonne, is the most imperious Mother of our Judge, with many like horrid blasphemies, which I tremble to relate.

Verse 5. According to the election of grace] S^t Paul was Constantissimus gratiae praedicator, as Austin calleth him, a most constant preacher of Gods free grace.

Verse 6. Then is it no more of works] Whatsoever conferrumina­tion of grace and works Papists dream of. They think, that as he that standeth on two firm branches of a tree, is surer then he that [Page 37]standeth upon one only: So he that trusteth to Christ and works too, is in the safest condition. But, 1. They are fallen from Christ that trust to works, Gal. 5.4. 2. He that hath one foot on a firm branch, and another on a rotten one, stands not so sure as if he stood wholly on that which is sound. But let them be Moses's Disciples, let us be Christs: Set not up a candle to this Sun of righ­teousnesse: mix not thy puddle with his purple bloud, thy rags with his raiment, thy Pigeons plumes with his Eagles-feathers. He can and will save his to the utmost, Heb. 7.25. Detest all mock-staies.

Verse 7. Israel] i. e. The carnall Israelite.

He seeketh for] viz. Righteousnes and salvation by works.

Hardened] By a judiciary hardnes.

Verse 8. The Spirit of slumber] So that with those Bears in Pliny they cannot be awakened with the sharpest prickles: and with those Asses in Hetruria, that feeding upon hen-bane,Mathiol in Dioscorid. they he for dead, and awake not till half-hileded. Such a dead Lethargy is now befallen Papists.

Verse 9. Be made a snare] As the bait is to the birds.

Verse 10. Bow down] i. e. Bring them into bondage and mi­sery. Compare Lev. 26.13.

Verse 11. Have they stumbled] He that stumbleth and comes not down, gets ground.

Verse 12. How much more their fulnesse] O dieculam illam! dexter mihi prae laetitia salit oculus. How long, Lord, holy and true?

Verse 13. I magnifie mine office] I make the utmost of it by gaining souls to Christ.

Verse 14. And might save some] Ministers must turn them­selves as it were into all shapes and fashions both of spirit and speech to win people to God.

Verse 15. Be the reconciling] Not as a cause, but as an oc­casion.

Life from the dead] That is, Res summè bona, saith Phocius, a speciall good thing.

Verse 16. If the first fruit be holy] Not with a naturall, but fe­derall holines, as 1 Cor. 7.14.

Verse 17. Wert graffed in] Gr. [...]. Pricked into the middle, the center of the Olive.

Verse 18. Boast not] Gr. Throw not up thy neck, in [Page 38]a scornfull insulting way, but rather pity and pray for them.

Verse 19.Isidor. so [...]il. Greg Moral. Thou wilt say] Carnall reason will have ever some­what to say, and is not easily set down.

Verse 20. Be not high-minded, but fear] Alterius perditio tua sit cautio, saith one. Ruina majorum sit cantela minorum, saith another, Seest thou thy brother shipwrackt? look well to thy tackling.

Verse 21. Take heed lest] Cavebis autèm si pavehis.

Verse 22. [...]. Severity] Gr. Resection or cutting off, as a Chyrur­gian cutteth off proud and dead flesh.

Verse 23. God is able] He can fetch heart of oak out of an hollow tree, and of carnall make a people created again, Psal. 102.18. Eph. 2.10.

Verse 24. Contrary] Therefore nature contributes nothing toward the work of conversion.

Verse 25. That blindenesse in part] It is neither totall nor per­petuall. Lyra was a famous English Jew. Tremellius was also a Jew born; they are but Methe mispar, a very few that are yet converted.Spec. Europ. They pretend (but maliciously) that those few that turn Christians in [...]taly, are none other then poor Christians hired from other cities to personate their part. But when God shall have united those two sticks, Ezek. 37.19. and made way for those Kings of the East, Rev. 16.12. then it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, What hath God wrought! Numb. 23.23.

Verse 26. Shall turn away ungodlinesse] That is, He shall par­don their sin. The Prophet Isaiah hath it, Ʋnto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, &c. They whose persons are justified, have their lusts mortified.

Verse 27. When I shall take] By the spirit of judgement and of burning, Isa. 4.4. with 27.9.

Verse 28. They are enemies] i. e. Hated of God, as appears by the opposition; and banished, as it were, by a common consent of Nations, out of humane society. See 1 Thess. 2.15, 16.

Verse 29. Are without repentance] When God is said to re­pent, it is Mutatiorei non Dei, effectus non affectus, facti non consilij, a change not of his will, but of his work. Repentance with man, is the change of his will: Repentance with God, is the willing of a change.

Verse 30. Through their] By occasion of their unbelief. [Page 39] Pungit Judaeos & humiliat Gentes, saith one.

Verse 31. That they also] It noteth not the cause, but the event, as 1 Cor. 11.19.

Verse 32. [...]. For God hath concluded] Or lockt them all up in the laws dark dungeon, Gal. 3.22. Unbelief breaks all the law at an instant by rejecting Christ, as the first act of faith obeys all the law at an instant in Christ.

That he might have mercy upon all] Luther in a very great conflict was relieved and comforted by the often repeating of this sweet sentence.

Verse 33. O the depth of the riches] The Romans dedicated a certain lake, the depth whereof they knew not, to victory, so should we the unsearchable counsels of God, being subdued to that, which we cannot subdue to our understandings.

Verse 34. Who hath been his Counsellour] Alphonso the wise (the fool rather) was heard blasphemously to say,Roderic, Santij Hist. Hispan. p. 4, [...]. 5. That if he had been of Gods counsell at the Creation, he could have advised and ordered many things much better then they now are.

Verse 35 Who hath first given to him] Doe we not owe him all that we have and are? And can a man merit by paying his debts?

Verse 36. For of him] As the efficient cause, and (through him) as the administring cause, and (to him) as the finall cause are all things. A wise Philosopher could say, That man is the end of all in a semicircle; that is, All things in the world are made for him, and he is made for God.

To whom be glory for ever] God (saith one) counts the works and fruits that come from us to be ours: because the judgement and resolution of will, whereby we do them is ours: This he doth to encourage us. But because the grace whereby we judge and will a­right, comes from God, ascribe we all to him: So shall he loose no praise, we no encouragement.

CHAP. XII. Verse 1. That ye present]

AS they of old did their sacrifices at the altar. With the burnt of­fering, w^ch signified the sacrificing of the flesh, was joyned the sin-offering, that is, Christ, Faith applies Christ to the believer, & the believer to Christ.

Your bodies] That is, your whole person. Cainistae sunt, saith Luther, offerentes non personam, sed opus personae. They are Cain­ists that offer to God the work done, but do not offer themselves to God.

A living sacrifice] In the old law they had many kindes of Sacrifices killed and offered. Now (saith Origen) in stead of a Ramme we kill our irefull passions: in stead of a Goat our unclean affections: in stead of slying fowls our idle thoughts, &c.

Verse 2. To this world] To the corrupt customes and courses of wicked wordlings. See them set forth, Rom 13.13. Ephes. 4.18, 19, 20. 1 Pet. 4.3. and shun them.

But be ye transformed] Gr. Metamorphosed, the old frame be­ing diflolved, and a new form acquited.

That ye may prove] sc. By your practice.

Verse 3. [...]. Xenoph. de di­ctu & factis Socrat. lib 3. But to think soberly] Gr. To be wise to sobriety. Socrates made no distinction between wisdome and sobriety, [...] non distinguebat.

Verse 4. For as we have, &c.] See 1 Cor. 12.12, which is a Commentary on this text.

Verse 5. One body in Christ] See the Note on 1 Cor. 12.12, 13.

Verse 6. According to the proportion] That form of sound words, 2 Tim. 1.13. those principles of the doctrine of Christ, Heb. 6.1. with which all interpretations of Scripture must bear due proportion.

Verse 7. Or Ministery] Take it either largely for the whole ministery, as 1 Cor. 12.5, Act. 1.17. Or more strictly for the of­fice of a Deacon, as Act. 6.

Verse 8. Or he that exhorteth] The Pastour properly so called. See the Note on Eph. 4.11.

Verse 9. [...]. Abhorre that which is evil] Hate it as hell it self: so the word signifies, Mihi certè Auxentius nunquam aliud quam [...]abolus erit, quia Arrianus, saith Hilary, I shall look upon Aux­emius no otherwise then as upon a devil, so long as he is an Arrian.

Verse 10. Be kindely affectioned] As naturall brethren and more. Arctior est copula cordis quam corporis. We are brethren in Adam according to the flesh, in and by Christ according to the Spirit.

Verse 11. [...]. Cunctator. Not slothfull] Or, Not driving off till it be too late. [Page 41] Charles the son of Charles Duke of Aniou, who was King of Si­cily and Jerusalem, was called, Carolus cunctator, not in the sense as Fabius, because he staid till opportunity came, but because he staid till opportunity was lost.

Fervent in spirit] Gr. Seething hot. God, [...]. who is himself a pure act, loveth activenes in men: the very rest of heavenly bodies is in motion in their proper places.

Verse 12. Rejoycing in hope] Hope makes absent joyes present, wants plenitudes, and beguiles calamity as good company doth the time.

Patient in tribulation] Bearing up under pressures, as among many other Martyrs Nicolas Burton, who by the way to the stake, and in the s [...]ame was so patient and chearfull,Act. and Mon. 1866. that the tormentours said, the devil had his soul before he came to the fire, and therefore his senses of feeling were past.

Continuing instant in praier] Constant and instant. [...]. N [...]z. in Epita. A meta­phor from hunting dogs, that give not over the game till they have got it. Nazianzen saith of his sister Gorgonia, that she was so gi­ven to praier, that her knees seemed to grow to the very ground. Of Trasilla it is reported,Greg. Dialog. that being dead she was found to have her elbows as hard as horn, by leaning to a desk at which she used to pray. S^t James is said to have had knees as hard as Camels knees,Euseb. by his continuall kneeling in praier. And Paul the eremite was sound dead kneeling upon his knees, holding up his hāds, lifting up his eye: so that the very dead corps seemed yet to live, and to pray to God.Hieron in vita

Verse 13. To the necessity] Gr. To the uses of the Saints, [...]. not staying till they be in necessity.

Verse 14. Blesse them] See the Note on Mat. 5 44.

Verse 15. Weep with them that weep] S^t Cyprians compassion is remarkable, Cum singulis pectus meum copulo, maeroris & fu­neris pondera luctuosa participo: cum plangentibus plango, cum d slentibus defleo, &c. I partake in every mans grief, and am as much affected and afflicted, as if it were mine own case.

Verse 16. Be of the same] This verse had been easie, had not Interpreters obscured it, as Origen observeth.

Verse 17. Recompense to no man] In reason, revenge is but ju­stice: Aristotle commends it: the world cals it Manhood, Arist Rhetor. lib. 9 cap. 1. 'tis doghood rather. The manlier any man is, the milder and more mer­cifull, as David, 2 Sam. 1.12. and Julius Caesar, who wept over Pompeys head presented to him, and said, Non mihi placet vin­dicta, [Page 42]dicta, sed victoria, I seek not revenge, but victory.

Verse 18. As much as lieth in you] Let it not stick on your part. [...]ive not offence carelesly, take not offence causlesly. See the Note on Mat. 5.9

Verse 19. Avenge not your selves] Some take the Sword in­to their own hands: and, lest they should seem Anabaptists in ta­king two blows for one, will give two blows for one.

Give place to wrath] sc. To the wrath and vengeance of God, which he seemeth to prevent that seeks revenge.

Verse 20. Thou shalt heap] Thou shalt melt him, and make him thy friend for ever.

Verse 21. Be not overcome] In rixa is inferior est, qui victor est, saith Basil. In revenge of injuries, he is the loser that gets the better. [...] [...]. [...] Cor. 6.7. Hence the Apostle disgraceth it, by a word that signifieth disgrace or losse of victory.

But overcome evil] This is the most noble victory. Thus Da­vid overcame Saul, Func. Chronol. and Henry the 7^th, Emperour of Germany, overcame the Priest that poisoned him at the Sacrament: for he pardoned him, and bad him be packing. So did not Iacup the Persian King,Turk Hist. who perceiving himself poisoned by his adulterous wife, enforced her to drink of the same cup: and because he would be sure she should not escape, with his own hand he struck off her head. But this (to say truth) was not revenge, but justice.

CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. Let every soul be subject]

IN things lawfull only: for else we must answer as those Apostles did, Act. 3.29. and as Polycarp, who being commanded to blaspheme Christ, and to swear by the fortune of Caesar, perem­ptorily refused, and said, We are taught to give honour to Princes and Potentates, but such honour as is not contrary to Gods re­ligion.

Ordained of God] In regard of it's institution,Tha. 2.2. q. 10. ar. 10. though for the manner of it's constitution it is of man.

Verse 2. Resisteth the power] His authorative commands, not his personall.

Receive to themselves damnation] Poenam sibi auferent, saith Piscator, [...]. Conser. 1 Cor. 11.31, 32 they shall receive punishment, to wit from the Magi­strate: [Page 43]as Aretine deserved to doe, who by longer custome of li­bellous and contumelious speaking against Princes, had got such a habit, that at last he came to diminish and disesteem God himself.

Verse 3. For Rulers are not, &c.] They should not be. But Ie­roboam set a net on Mizpeh, and spread a share upon Tabor to watch who would go from him to Iudah to worship, Hos 5.1.

A terrour to good works, but to the evil] The Sword of ju­stice (saith one) must be furbished with the oil of mercy: yet there are cases wherein severity ought to cast the scale.Petr. Nicol. Gelstrou [...]. Dan. bist. Duresce, Duresce, ò infoelix Lantgravie, said the poor Smith to the Lant­grave of Thuring, more milde then was for his peoples good. Bo­nis nocet, qui malis parcit. Edward the Confessour was held a bad Prince, not by doing, but enduring ill.

Verse 4. For he is the minister] It was written upon the sword of Charles the great, Decem praeceptorum custos Carolus, Charles is Lord Keeper of the Decalogue.

For he beareth not the Sword in vain] Like S^t Paul in a glasse window, or S^t George (as they call him) in a sign-post.

A revenger to execute wrath] But now we see how every man almost will be a Pope in his own cause, depose the Magistrate, at least appeal from him to himself.

Verse 5. But also for conscience sake] Good Rulers we must obey as God, bad, for God. [...]. Basil.

Verse 6. Attending continually] As born for the benefit of many. The Parliament in the 25. of Edward 3. is known to po­sterity by the name of Benedictum Parliamentum: So shall this present [...]arliament for their continuall attendance upon the Lords work; bending themselves to the businesse (as the word signifies) and holding cut therein with unparallel'd patience.This was writ­ten, anno 1646. [...].

Verse 7. Render therefore to all their dues] He saith not their unjust exactions. Melancthon makes mention of a cruell Prince, that to get money of his Subjects, would knock out their teeth;Primò unum dentem evelle­bat minitans, &c. first one tooth, and then another, unlesse they would bring him in such sums of money as he required.

Fear to whom, &c.] i. e. Reverentiall observance, farre beyond that which Q. Fabius Maximus yeelded to his son, when he be­came Consul.Li. Decal. 3. lib 4.

Verse 8. Owe no man, &c.] The Persians reckoned these two for very great sins; 1. To be in debt. 2. To tell a lie; the later being oft the fruit of the former. By the twelve Tables of Rome, Xenophon. [Page 44]he that owed much, and could not pay, was to be cut in pieces, and every creditour was to have a piece of him according to the debt.Gell lib. 12. c. 1.

Verse 9. [...]. Briefly comprehended] Capitulated, fulfilled, saith the Syriack, summed up. S^t Bartholomew was quoted by Diony­sius to have said of Divinity, Et magnam esse & minimam, that it was large and yet little, [...]. as containing much matter in few words.

Verse 10. The [...] of the law] The filling up of the law in this, that it clotheth the duties of the law with the glory of a due manner, and seateth them upon their due subjects, with the unwea­ried labours of a constant well-doing.

Verse 11. To awake out of sleep] Whiles the Crocodile sleep­eth with open mouth, the Indian rat gets into his stomack, and eat­eth thorow his entrails. Whiles Ishhosheth slept upon his bed at noon, Baanah and Rechab took a way his head. Security ushereth in destruction. Goe forth and shake your selves as Sampson did, when the Philistims were upon him: lest Satan serve you, at least for your souls, as Captain Drake did the Spaniard at Taurapasa in the West-Indies for his treasure; he found him sleeping securely on the shore, and by him thirteen bars of silver to the value of 400000 duckets,Co [...]dens Elisa. fol. 422. which he commanded to be carried away, not so much as once waking the man. Or lest Christ himself deal by us, as Epaminondas did by the watchman, whom he found asleep: He thrust him thorow with his sword, and being blamed for so se­vere a fact, he replied, Talem eum reliqui, qualem inveni, I left him, as I found him.

For now is our salvation nearer] Stir up your selves therefore, and strain toward the mark. [...]. Hesych. Poliux l 3 [...] 30 There is a Greek word signifying the end of a race, which is derived of a word that signifieth to spur or prick forward. Surely, as they that run their horses for a wager, spur hardest at the races end: so, sith our salvation is nearer now then ever it was, therefore we should run faster now then ever we did.

Verse 12. The night] Here it is taken for all unregeneracy, which (as the night) is full of errour, terrour. &c. Nox pu­dore vacat. This night with the Saints is far spent, or already past, as Cyprian and Hierom here render it.Transivit. Praeterijt. [...]

Verse 13. Let us walk honestly] Handsomely, fashionably, mannerly, with an holy shamefacednes.

Not in chambering] Properly, lying a bed, or long-ly­ing. [...].

Verse 14. But put ye on] Augustin confesseth that he was con­verted by reading and pondering this text.

And make not provision] Make not projects, cater not for the flesh.

CHAP XIV. Verse 1. Him that is weak, &c.]

THat is not thorowly perswaded of all things pertaining to Christian liberty about things indifferent.

Receive] Assectu charitatis, put him into your bosoms,Haymo. bear with his weaknesses, &c, Bucer rejected none, though different in some opinions, in whom he found, Aliquid Christi, any thing of Christ, whose weaklings are to be handled with all ten­dernesse.

But not to doubtfull] Make him not Question-sick, 1 Tim. 6.4. Wring not mens consciences, you may hap to break the wards, if you do.

Verse 2. Eateth herbs] Rather then meats forbidden by the Law. The ancient Latines were as well apaid of herbs to eat,Dan. 1, 11. as if they had had all manner of dainties.Holus [...]. Green herbs were both food and physick to them.

Verse 3. For God hath received him] viz. For his houshold servant, which David counted a greater dignity then to be King of Israel. And Iustinian the Emperour stiled himself, Ʋltimum ser­vorum Dei, the meanest of Gods servants.

Verse 4. Who art thou, &c.] The wisdome from above is without censuring, without hypocrisie, saith S. Iames, Chap. 3.17. Intimating, that the greatest censurers are mostly the greatest hy­pocrites: And as any one is more wise, he is more sparing of his censures.

Verse 5. Let every man be fully perswaded] It is a safe rule,Plin. Epist: Quod dubites, ne feceris: In doubtfull cases be sure to take the su­ter side.

Verse 6. For he giveth God thanks] A custome used by the very Heathens to their gods,Sir Ed Sands, Spec. Europae. as is to be read in Homer and Virgil: but grown clean out of use among the Catholikes in France and [Page 46] Italy. But if they that give thanks at meat do eat to God, to whom do they eat that give none?

Verse 7. For none of us liveth to himself] S. Paul stood, as it were on tiptoes, [...]. Phil. 1.20 to see which way he might best glo­rifie God, by life or by death.

Verse 8. We are the Lords] Death divides us not from Christ, but brings us home to him, 2 Cor. 5.6. It is but winking (as that Martyr said) and thou shalt be in heaven presently.

Verse 9. That he might be Lord] He wonne his crown before he wore it: he fought for it, and having vanquished all enemies, he accomplished and proclaimed the victory in his glorious resurre­ction, triumphed in his wonderfull ascension leading captivity ca­ptive, &c. Eph. 4.7.

Verse 10. But why dost thou, &c.] Three things are not sub­ject to our judgement. 1. The counsels of God. 2. The holy Scriptures. 3. The persons of men. Be not therefore rash in re­jecting, or sowr in censuring your fellow-servant; but let your moderation herein be known to all men; and the rather, because the Lord is at hand, Phil. 4.5.

Verse 11. As I live, saith the Lord] As true as I live is an oath, as appears here, and Numb. 14 21. with Ps. 95.11. Forbear it therefore.

Verse 12. So then every one, &c.] It was excellent counsell that the Oratour gave his hearers,Cic. 4. in Verr. I [...]a vivamus ut ration [...]m nobis reddendans arbitremur. Let us so live as those that must give an ac­count of all at last.

Verse 13. A stumbling block, or an, &c.] A lighter or great­er offence, to make him go halting to heaven.

Verse 14. By the Lord Iesus] Who hath pulled down the par­tition-wall, and purchased our Christian liberty.

Verse 15. But if thy brother be grieved] It is his weaknesse to be grieved thereat, but gratifie him howsoever. What one speaks of a plain place of Scripture, this verse (saith he) had been easie, had not Commentatours made it knotty: the like, saith another of a Christians condition, it is gracious, happy, clear, sure, sweet, did not erroneous judgements vex and unsettle them.

Verse 16. Let not then your good] That is, Your Christian li­berty purchased by Christ.

Be evil spoken of] Gr. Be blasphemed. Contumely cast upon the people of God is blasphemy in the second Table. God, [Page 47]for the honour that he beareth to his people, counts and calls it so.

Verse 17. For the kingdome of God, &c.] That was a swinish saying of Epicurus, That eternall life should be nothing else but a continuall eating of the fat, and drinking of the sweet, [...]. even unto an uncessant surfetting and drunkennesse. The Turks at this day promise Paradise to such as die in warre for the Mahometan faith,Blou [...]ts voiage, p 37 [...]. where they shall have delicious fare, pleasant gardens, all sensuall delights, eternally to be enjoyed not withstanding any former sins. Fit lettice for such lips.

Verse 18. Is acceptable to God] And he is an happy man that can be acquitted by himself in private, in publike by others, in both by God.

Verse 19. Wherewith one may edifie another] Discords among good people, do edificare in gehennam, as Tertullian phraseth it, build backwards. One of the main scandals the Jews take from Protestants, is their dissention.

Verse 20. The work of God] That work of faith, 1 Thess. 1.3. wrought by the mighty power of God, Ephes. 1.19. who puts not forth great power, but for great purposes.

Verse 21. It is good neither to eat, &c.] It will be no grief of heart (as she once told David in another case) to have forborn in case of scandall. A great grief it would be if by some rash word we should betray a brother, or smite out the eie of our dearest childe.1 Sam. 25. Should we then destroy the life of grace in another by our unadvi­sed walking?

Verse 22. Hast thou faith?] Posse, & nolle, nobile est. For­bear for fear of effence, unlesse it be in point of necessary duty: For then we may not doe evil that good may come, Rom. 3 8.

Verse 23. Is damned] Both of his doubting conscience, which soundeth heavily, as a shau [...]m, and of God, who is greater then his conscience.

CHAP. XV. Verse 1. Ought to bear]

AS Porters do their burdens, as pillars do the poise of the house, [...]. or rather as parents bear their babes in their arms.

And not to please our selves] Bis desipit, qui sibi sapit. Prov. 3.7.

Verse 2. Please his neighbour] Though he crosse himself: this is true Christian love, and driven almost out of the world by sinfull self-love, which can eth men to dislike those things in others, that they slatter in themselves.

Verse 3. For even Christ] And we should expresse him to the world, preach abroad his vertues by our practice, 1 Pet. 2.9. Our lives should be as so many Sermons upon the life of Christ. This is walk in Christ, Col. 2 6. as Christ, 1 Joh. 3.6.

Verse 4. For whatsoever things, &c.] Here the Apostle meets with an Objection. For some man might say, that that saying of the Psalme pertains to David, how therefore is it ap­plied to Christ? He answers, Whatsoever things, &c. q. d. We must learn to see Christ in David: David in the history, Christ in the mystery; David as the type, Christ the truth.

That we through patience] Hence the Scriptures are called.R [...]vel. 2. The word of Christs patience, because they patient the heart under Gods holy hand: and are better called Physick for the soul, then ever was the library of Alexandria. [...].

And comfort of the Scriptures] As the bloud and spirits are conveied by the veins and arteries: so is the Spirit by the promises, helping the soul to lay it self upon Christ by faith, which is a grace of union, and so of establishment.

Verse 5. Now the God of patience] The soul is then only in good plight, when the heaven answers the earth, Hos. 2.21. When. Christ the Sun of righteousnes shines into it.

Verse 6. With one minde, and one mouth] It is recorded to the high commendation of the Church of Scotland, that for this 90 years and upwards, they have kept unity with purity, without schisme, much lesse heresie.Syntag. Confes­sion praesat.

Verse 7. To the glory of God] That is, Of heaven, the joyes whereof it is as impossible to comprehend, as it is to compasse the heaven with a span, or contain the Ocean in a nut-shell. Such comfort there is in the presence of Christ (though but in the womb) as it made John to spring: What then shall it be in heaven?

Verse 8. Now I say that Jesus] Paul proveth particularly in this and the following verses, that Christ hath taken both Jews and Gentiles to his glory.

Verse 9. And that the Gentiles] Though they had no such promises, might glorifie Gods free grace in the day of their visitation.

Verse 10. Rejoyce] That your names also are written in heaven, and that ye are enrolled in the records of the new Jerusalem.

Verse 11. All ye Gentiles] As being received into the glory of God, vers. 7.

Verse 12. In him shall the Gentiles trust] I saith hath it, To him shall the Gentiles seek; To seek to God then argues trust in God. He that hopes not, praies not, or but faintly.

Verse 13. Fill you with all joy, &c.] Note here that joy and peace are the means, whereby faith worketh hope.

Verse 14. Full of goodnesse] The excellency of a godly man is to follow God fully, as Caleb, Numb. 14.24. to have a heart full of goodnesse, as these Romans, a life full of good works, as Tabitha, Act. 9.36. These shall receive a full reward, 2 Joh. 8.

Verse 15. Chrysostome truly saith of S^t Paul that he was insa­tiabilis Dei cultor, one that thought he could never do God or his Church service enough.

Verse 16. Ministring the Gospel] Serving about holy things, [...]. or doing sacred offices, as the Priests under the Law, to whom the Apostle all along this verse alludes in an elegant allegory: the Mi­nistery is a divine and heavenly function. All other callings are for the world, and draw to the world: but this, both in the prepara­tion and execution, draweth to God, keepeth us with God, and to be ever mindefull of the things of God.

Verse 17. I have therefore, &c.] So have all Gods faithfull Ministers at this day against the contempts and contumelies cast upon them by the mad world, ever besides it self in point of salva­tion. There is a pamphlet lately published that sticks not to make that sacred and tremend function of the Ministery to be as meer an imposture, as very a mystery of iniquity,The Compass. Samarit [...]n. as arrant a juggle as the Pa [...]acy it self.

Verse 18. To make the Gentiles, &c.] Christ by his Gospel sub­dued the Britans, whom the Romans with all their force could ne­ver subdue, as Tertullian observed.Britannorum [...]nac [...]ssa Ra­man [...] [...] C [...]risto [...] sub [...]ta 1 ere,

Verse 19. So that from Jerusalem] Chrysostome observeth, that Plato came three times to Sicily to convert Dionysius the ty­rant [Page 50]to morall philosophy, and could not. But Paul fet a great compasse, converted many souls, planted many Churches: And why? Christ sat upon him as upon one of his white horses, and went forth conquering and to conquer, Revel 6.2.

Verse 20. Lest I should build[Lest I should seem to doe any thing unbeseeming the office of an Apostle. There is a decorum to be kept in every calling.

Verse 21. But as it is written] In obedience to this divine o­racle, the Apostle preached to those that had not heard, yet negle­cted not those that had.

Verse 22. For which cause] By planting Churches, and preach­ing where was more need.

Verse 23. These many years] The Romans were converted to the faith betimes.

Verse 24. For I trust to see you] Ipse aspectus viri beni dele­ctat, saith Seneca. There is a great deal of sweetnesse in the socie­ty of Saints, and much good to be gotten thereby. Sometimes, (saith a grave Divine) though we know that which we ask of o­thers, as well as they doe, yet good speeches will draw us to know it better, by giving occasion to speak more of it; wherewith the spirit works more effectually, and imprints it deeper, so that it shall be a more rooted knowledge then before. For that doth good that is graciously known, and that is graciously known, that the Spi­rit seals upon our souls.

Verse 25. To minister unto the Saints] The highest An­gel in heaven may not hold himselfe too good to serve the Saints.

Verse 26. [...]. It hath pleased them] It hath not been squeezed out of them, as verjuice is out of a crab, but freely and chearfully they have contributed.

Verse 27. Their debters they are] And so are we to pity and pray for them. See my True Treasure, Sect. 2. chap.7.

Verse 28. When I have sealed] That is, Safely delivered, as if it were under seal.

This fruit] This sweet ripe fruit of their faith and love, their alms

Verse 29. In the fulnesse of the blessing] Christ may use one of lesse grace to doe more good then one of more (for there are diversities of operations, as well as of gifts, 2 Cor. 12.6.) but usu­ally he delights to honour those of most sinicerity, with most suc­cesse, 1 Cor. 15.10.

Verse 30. For the Lord Jesus Christs sake] This is one of those passages in S. Paul, then the which there can nothing possibly be i­magined more grave, divine, excellent, saith Beza.

That ye strive together] Even to an agony, as the word im­ports. [...] Spirituall beggery is the hardest and richest of all trades, as one laid. Learn of this great Apostle to beg praiers with all ear­nestnesse.Act. and Mon. fol 1565. Ibid. 1499. Pray for me, I say, pray for me, I say, quoth father Latymer, Pray for me, pray for me, for Gods sake pray for me, said blessed Bradford.

Verse 31. That my service which, &c.] One would have thought that the Apostle coming with alms to them, should easily have been well accepted: but he saw cause to seek God for such a mercy, sith it is he alone that fashions mens opinions, and gives favour and kinde acceptance. Besides wisdome, he gave Solomon honour.

Verse 32. Be refreshed] See the Note on Rom. 1.12. and on 2 Ioh. 12.

Verse 33. Now the God of peace] A sit attribute for the pre­sent purpose. It is a commendable policy in Christians, when they pray to propound God to their minde in such notions, and un­der such titles, as whereby they may see in God the things they desire of God.

CHAP. XVI. Verse 1. Servant of the Church]

A Diaconisse to minister to the sick, as 1 Tim. 5.9. not a praedi­cantisse, to preach or have Peters keys at her girdle.D. Bastwick a­gainst Inde­pend.

Verse 2. As becometh Saints] Who are great Princes, States, in all lands, Psal 4; and to be observed accordingly, even worthy of God, 3 Ioh. 6.

Verse 3. Salute Priscilla] She is first mentioned, haply as more forward then her husband in the best things. So was Ma­noahs wife, and Nazianzens mother.

Verse 4. Who have for my life] A rare example.Dan. hist. 231. Fast friends are in this age for the most part gone on pilgrimage (said one once) and their return is uncertain.

Verse 5. The Church that is in their house] The house of George Prince of Anhalt, for the good orders therein observed, [Page 52]is said to have been, Ecclesia, Academia, Curia.

The first fruits of Achaia] The first that received the Go­spel there. A singular commendation, a sweet happinesse. Gods soul hath desired such first ripe fruits, Mic, 7.1. such prim­roses.

Verse 6. Greet Mary, &c.] It is profitable that men of great parts and place should preserve their memory with others, though it be but in a salutation: for it may be a means to fire up affection to godlinesse in such whom they so remember.

Verse 7. Who are of note] Noble, notable Christians, old ex­perienced gray-headed Disciples. [...]. Christianity findes or makes us honourable.

Verse 8. Greet Amplias] Piety is no enemy to courtesie: It doth not remove, but rectifie it.

Verse 9. Our helper in Christ] A sweet sign to him, that his name was written in the book of life, Phil. 4.3.

Verse 10. Approved in Christ] An high stile, far beyond that of the great Turk, with all his big-swoln-titles.

Verse 11. My kinsman] In the flesh, but more in the faith, that surest tie.

Verse 12. Who labour in the Lord] Though not so much as Persis did,Cic. deorator. yet doth he not defraud them of their due commenda­tion, Prima sequentem honestum est in secundis tertiis (que) consi­slere. Every man must not look to excell: let him be doing, as he is able.

Verse 13. His mother and mine] His by nature, mine by affe­ction. The Apostles parted with parents and friends at home, found them abroad.

Verse 14. Salute Asyncritus, &c.] Nothing is said of these; for haste perhaps, or else because they were (as one saith of Iesse the father of David) Viri, probi & honesti, minùs [...]amen cla­ri, Good honest men, but not much noted. Or lastly, for that the Apostle had no very good opinion of them, as he seems not to have had of Demas, Colos. 4.14. who yet would needs be one in the Apostles register there: a place he will have, though it be the last place. Hermas here mentioned, was reputed by some of the Ancients to be the Authour of that Apocryphall book called Pa­stor; wherein he dealt not so fairly and faithfully in relating what he had received from the Apostles, being sublestae fidci author.

Verse 15. And Olympas] Viri nomen non mulicris. The name not of a woman, but of a man, saith Beza.

Verse 16. With an holy kisse] The Independents at Arnheim in Holland, M. Edwards his Antapol. p 36, 60. propounded this kisse of love to be practised amongst them. So for anointing the sick with oil, singing of hymns by one man, all the rest being silent, &c.

Verse 17. [...]. Mark them which] Set a watchfull and a jealous eye upon them, as upon pests and enemies. And here, let not our Episcopi (whose office it is chiefly) be Aposcopi, Bernard. over-seers be by-seers, but look well to the slock, lest these wolves worry them.Act. 20, 29.

And avoid them] Gr. Decline them studiously, [...]. as ye would do a serpent in your way, or poison in your meats.

Verse 18 But their own bellies] They pretend the service of Christ to their worldly and wicked respects, by a dissembled san­ctity, which is double iniquity. The Duke of Bavaria is even eaten up with those Popish flesh-shes, Friers and Jesuites.

And by good words, &c.] Those locusts in the Revelation have faces like women, insinuative and flattering.Tertullian. The Valentinian he­retikes had an art to perswade before they taught, whereas the truth perswadeth by teaching, it doth not teach by perswading.

They deceive] As cheaters do, by the cogging of a dye, Eph. 4.14. Fallax artisicium, vel potiùs artisex fallacia, [...] saith E­rasmus on that text, a cunning kinde of cez [...]nage.

Verse 19 For your obedience, &c.] Whereas the Romans might object, Are we also of those simple ones? Your obedience, saith he, is famous all the world over. Howbeit I would have you wise to that which is good, but simple concerning evil. This simpli­city is no disparagement, to be unskilled in the devils depths, Revel. 2.24.

Verse 20. Shall bruise Satan] Sincerity of a little grace shall be rewarded with abundance of greater graces. Christ our Cham­pion hath already wonne the field, and will shortly set our feet upon the necks of our spirituall enemies. The broken horns of Satan shall be the Trumpets of our triumph, and the Cornets of our joy.

Verse 21. Timotheus my work fellow] Of Timothy, reade Act, 16.1, 2. Of Lucius, Act. 13.1. Of Iason, Act. 17.5. Of Sopater, Act. 20 4.

Verse 22. I Tertius who wrote, &c.] Either from the Apo­stles [Page 54]mouths, or rather out of his foul papers.

Verse 23. Gaius mine host] Baptized by Paul, for whom therefore,1 Cor. 1.14. Muli [...] bo [...]piti [...] praebuit. Steph. and for other good men he thought he could never doe enough. Such another was Phebe, verse 2. who had been a succourer, or an hostesse to many, and to my self, saith Paul.

Verse 24. The grace of our Lord] This is the seal of all S. Pauls Epistles. 2 Thess. 3.17.

Verse 25. Which was kept secret] Even from the very An­gels, 1 Pet. 1.12. who do daily profit in the knowledge of this se­cret, Eph. 3.10.

Verse 26. According to the Commandment] The writings of the Prophets concerning the mystery of Christ were not made known to the world by hap-hazard, but by a speciall command of God.

Verse 27. To God only wise, &c.] So say I for these few Notes thus finished.

CHAP. I. Verse 1. Sosthenes our brother]

ANd companion in the kingdome and patience of Christ, Act. 18.17. There he was despitefully en­treated, here highly honoured.Revel. 1.9 [...] Christ is a liberall pay-master: Never any did or suffered ought for his sake that complained of an hard bargain. It is to my losse (said that Martyr) if you bate me any thing in my sufferings. Majora certamina, majora sequuntur prae­mia, saith Tertullian.

Verse 2. Called to be Saints] i. e. Either such as are sanctifi­ed by habituall infusion, or such as are sanctified by baptismall pro­fession only, that are in Covenant with God by sacrifice, Psal. 506. and are in Christ, though they bear no fruit, Ioh. 15.2. These two sorts of Saints make up a true visible Church.

With all that in every place] The Apostles then wrote not their Epistles for the particular uses of those times [Page 56]only, as the Jesuites will have it.

Verse 3. Grace be to you and peace] All peace that flows not from the sense of Gods love and favour, is as that of the Romans with the Samnites, Pax infila, pax incerta Livius. unfound and uncertain.

Verse 4. For the grace of God] Intending to chide them, he first commends them that he may preserve in their hearts an opinion of his love, whilest he rebuked them sharply, that they might be sound in the faith.

Verse 5. Ye are enriched] See here what is the Christians ri­ches. And so David reckons of his wealth, Psal. 119.32. He can­not be poor in whom the word of God dwels richly, Colos. 3.16. especially if he befrce of discourse, able and willing to communi­cate. A dumb Christian is to be blamed, as well as a dumb Minister.

Verse 6. The testimony of Christ] The Gospel, called also the Testimony, Isa. 8.10. To the Law, and to the Testimony.

Verse 7. So that ye come behinde, &c.] Yet were babes and car­nall, Chap. 3.2, 3. and fell short in many graces. We must distinguish between gifts and graces & covet these rather then those, 1 Co. 13.1.

Verse 8. In the day of our Lord J [...]sus] Eleven times in these ten first verses (as Chrysostome well observeth) the Apostle men­tioneth the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to him, and should be to us,Bern. Mel in ore, melos in aure, jubilum in corde, Honey in the mouth, musick in the ear, joy in the heart.

Verse 9. Ʋnto the fellowship] Union being the ground of com­munion: so that all that is in him is for us. I give my goods to the Saints, saith David, in the person of Christ.

Verse 10. That there be no divisions] To break unity in the Church, is to cut asunder the very veins and sinews of the mystical body of Christ.

By the Name of our Lord] Which is like to suffer by your dis­sensions, and whereof you ought to be as tender, as of treading up­on your parents that begat you.

Perfectly joyned] Schismes dis-joynt men.

Verse 11. Of the house of Chloe] A godly Matron she was no doubt, and a good office herein she did her neighbours: though, likely, she had little thank for her labour; as likewise Joseph had for bringing his brethrens evil report to their father, Gen. 37.2.

That there are contentions] These oft breed Schismes; as did the contention between Luther and Carolostadius: And [Page 57]many of the ancient heresies, sprang from private grudges and dis­contents, in sui solatium, for a sorry comfort to those that broach­ed them.

Verse 12. And I of Christ] q. d. I care neither for Paul nor Apollo, &c. As some say now-a-daies, they are neither Papists nor Protestants, but Christians, that is just nothing, slat Atheists. Heraclius the Emperour being imprudently carried away by some Bishops into the opinion of the Monothelites, when that heresie was afterwards condemned by the Councel of Hierusalem, the Emperour being ashamed to recant, became a meer Noutralist, and held neither one way nor other.

Verse 13. Baptized in the Name] Gr. Into the Name, so as to be called by my name. Those then that will needs be called Franciscans, Lutherans &c. do after a sort disclaim their baptisme, and become run awaies from Christ.

Verse 14. I thank God] He noteth and noticeth herein a sweet providence, beyond all that he then imagined, when he was at Corinth. God is to be seen in every speciall occur­rence.

Verse 15. Lest any should say] q. d. God hath so disposed of it, that none can with any colour of cause, or shew of sense say such a thing.

Verse 16. Whether I baptized any] His Colleagues, belike, did it (whiles he was other wise busied) with a particular examina­tion and instruction in those principles, Heb. 6.2.

Verse 17. Not to baptize] As my chief work,So Jer. 7.22. Meli [...]h. Adam. i [...] vi [...] 115. but to preach and plant Churches, wherein he had a very happy hand: as had likewise Farellus among our late Reformers, Qui Mompelgarden­ses, Aquileienses, Lausannensis, Genevenses, Novocomenses Christo luorisecit, he gained five Cities with their territories to Christ.

Not with wisdome of words] Which yet S. Paul could have done as well as another; witnesse his artificiall unstarching of the Oratours speech, Act. 26. But he liked not to put the Sword of the Spirit into a velvet scabberd, that it could not pierce, to speak Floridè potiùs quam solidè, as those self-seekers at Corinth did, that sought more to tickle the ear then to affect the heart. It re­pented Augustine, (and well it might) that when he was young he had preached more, Ʋt placeret, quam ut doceres, to please, then to profit. And Luther was wont to say, He is the best preach­er [Page 58]that preacheth, vulgaritèr, trivialitèr, maximè (que), ad populi captum. Not but that there is a lawfull use of Rhetorike in Ser­mons, so it be free from ostentation. See the Preface to my Gods love tokens.

Verse 18. To them that perish, foolishnesse] As it is to the Jews at this day, who rail against Christs person, calling him the hang­ed God, the wool and the warp, Levit. 13.52. because these two make the figure of the Crosse. And being asked whether they be­leeve to be saved by Christs righteousnesse? They answer, That every Fox must pay his own skin to the flaer. The Pagans al­so jeared at Christ, and his people, as did Julian, Lucian, Por­phyry, &c.

Verse 19. For it is written] Thus the old Testament is ful­filled in the New, [...]. whiles the worlds wizards are dazelled, dulled and disannulled.

Verse 20. Where is the wise?] The teacher of traditions: the Jews had a Proverb [...].

Where is the Scribe?] Or the Text-men, those that proceed according to the literall interpretation.

Where is the Disputer?] The teachers of allegories and my­steries, 1 Tim. 1.4.

Verse 21.Act. 17.27. [...]. The world by wisdome] Not the Jews by their deep Doctours, nor the Gentiles by their wits and wizards (Qui tan­quam noctuae ad solem caligabant) could grope out God.

By the foolishnesse of preaching] An ironicall concession, so the mad world esteemeth it, who shall t [...]e for ever the contempt of it, crying out Nos insensati, &c.

Verse 22. For the Jews require, &c.] The reason of their re­jecting the Gospel is, they are prepossessed against it, they look for that, that it affordeth not. A prejudicate opinion bars up the un­derstanding. Intùs existens prohibet alienum: like muddy wa­ter in a vessell, that causeth the most precious liquour to run over.

Verse 23. But we preach Christ] We not only preach of him, but we preach him, we give what we preach. It is the speciall office of the ministery to lay Christ open, to hold up the tapestry, to unfold the hidden mysteries of Christ. The holy Ghost in them, taketh of that which is Christs, and sheweth to men. Joh. 16.15.

Ʋnto the Iews a stumbling block] These Philistims cannot conceive how out of the eater should come meat, and out of the [Page 59]strong, sweet. Ʋnto the Greeks] These jeared at Jesus, and the resurrection, as at a couple of strange gods, Act. 17.18. Cato pro­fanely saith, Stultitia est morte alterius sperare salutem. It is a folly to expect safety by the death of another.

Verse 24. Christ the power of God] Opposite to the power of miracles required by the Jews.

And the wisdome of God] Opposite to the Grecians worldly wisdom.

Verse 25. Because the foolishnesse] The wisest man compared to God, Simia videbitur, non sapiens, said Hera [...]litus, as Plato relateth it, He will appear to be an Ape rather then a wise-man.

Verse 26. Not many mighty] The Eagle and Lion were not offered in sacrifice, as the Lamb and the Dove were. It is hard for great ones to deny themselves. Hence it grew to a Proverb in times of Popery, That hell was paved with Priests shaven crowns,Rafit sacrificu­lorum vertici­bus & magna­tumgolgia. Hieron. and great mens head-pieces. Indeed if men might passe de deliciis ad delicias, è eaeno ad coelum, as Hierom hath it: If they could dance with the devil all day, and sup with Christ at night: If they might live all their lives long in Dalilah's lap, and then go to A­brahams bosome when they die, they would have a sine time of it. But that cannot be: and hence so many mighties mis­carry.

Not many noble] Blessed be God that any: as Galeacius Ca­racciolus an Italian Marquesse, and Nephew to Pope Paul 5. was converted by Peter Martyr reading upon this first Epistle to the Corinthians. George Prince of Anhalt, a pious preaching Prince, converted by Melancthon: Ʋlysses Martinengus Earl of Bac­cha another Italian convert, and some few more that might be in­stanced. But good Nobles are black-swans (saith one) and thin­ly scattered in the fit mament of a state, even like stars of the first magnitude. We may say of such, as Luther doth of Elizabeth Queen of Denmark, a pious Princesse,Luther in epist. ad Joh. Agricol. Scilicet Christrus etiam aliquando voluit reginam in coelum vehere.

Verse 27. But God hath chosen] In our Church assemblies the meaner usually, like little fishes, bite more then the greater. The poor are Gospellized, Mat. 11.5.

Verse 28. Things which are not] i. e. That are nought set by 1 Sam. 25.6. Thus shall ye say to him that liveth, that is, to him that is rich: for poor men are reputed as dead men. They [Page 60]have but prisoners pittances, which will keep them alive, and that's all.

Verse 29. That no flesh] Proud flesh will soon swell, if it have but any thing to fasten on. The devil will also easily blow up such a blab.

Verse 30. But of him are ye] q. d. Albeit ye have nothing of your own, yet in Christ you have all: for in him is all fulnes both re­pletive and diffusive, both of abundance, and of redundance too, both of plenty and of bounty.

Is made unto us wisdome] This notes out Christs Propheticall office.

Righteousnesse and sanctification] By his Priestly office.

Redemption] By his K [...]gly office, having fully delivered his from sin, death and hell; all which is not fully done, till after death. And that's the reason why Redemption is here set last. See Rom. 8.23. Luk. 21.28.

Verse 31. Glory in the Lord] Acquiesce and exult in him, which is the end why God hath done all this for us in Christ.

CHAP. II. Verse 1. Not with excellency]

SAint Pauls speech was ne (que) lict [...], ne (que) negl. cta. neither curious nor carelesse. Politian could say, that it is an ornament to an Epistle to be without ornaments. And yet he had so little grace as to prefer Pindars Odes before Davids Psalms. Hosius also the C [...]dinal, thought Davids Psalms unlearned, applying that, Scri­brmus indoct [...] docti (que) pocm [...]ta passim. Os durum! The holy Scri­ptures have a grave eloquence, but want those pompous and paint­ed words, that carnall rhetoricians hunt after.

Verse 2. To know any thing] To professe or teach any o­ther skill. All the wisdom of a man is in this one thing, saith Lactartius, Ʋt Christum cognoscat & colat, That he know and worship Christ. Hoc nostrum dogma, haec senten­tia est, &c.Lactan. li [...] 3. cap. 30.

Verse 3. In weaknesse] In misery, and in a mean condition, labouring with his hands, &c. Act. 18.3.

And in fear] Of adversaries, or through care of discharging my duty amongst you.

Verse 4. With entising words] Religion is not a matter of parts, words or wit. The devil cares not for the sons of Sceva's adjurations. Abanah and Pharphar may scour, but Jord [...]n only can cure. Gods holy things must be handled, Sanctè magis quam scitè, with fear and reverence, rather then with wit and dal­liance.

In demonstration of the spirit] With demonstrations fetcht out of the very marrow of the Scriptures. It must be an elaborate speech that shall work upon the conscience.

Verse 5. That your faith, &c.] A humane testimony can breed but a humane faith. Aarons bels were of pure gold; our whole preaching must be Scripture-proof, or it will burn, and none be the better for it.

In the power of God] In the Gospel that lodgeth a certainty in the soul.

Verse 6. Wisdome among the perfect] Or those that are grown to maturity. Some think the Apostle borroweth this tearm from the Pagans superstition, who admitted none to their most secret Ceremonies, but only persons well prepared and purified for many years.

Yet not the wisdome, &c.] Which is like the labour of Moles, that dig dexterously under ground, but are blinde above ground.

That come to nought] That are tumbled into hell with all their learning, which doth but light them into utter dark­nesse.Nos cum do­ctrinis nostris, &c. Aug.

Verse 7. Wisdome of God in a mystery] Whiles God did not divide himself into a mercifull Father, and a just Judge (as Vale­rius speaketh of Zaleucus) but declared himself to be both a per­fectly mercifull Father, and withall a perfectly just Judge; which was such an act of wisdom as the world never heard of. This is that great mystery of godlines, 1 Tim. 3.16.

Verse 8. Which none of the Princes] He calleth the Pharisees and Philosophers Princes, for their learning; as being himself a scholar. Only he might well have said of them, as Tuliy of others in another case, Mihi quidem nulli satis eruditi videntur, quibus nostra sunt ignota. I cannot take them for scholars,Cic de Poet [...] Latinu. that partake not of our learning.

None of the Princes of this world knew] Because their learn­ing hung in their light. So it fared with Vspian the chief Lawyer, [Page 62] Galen the chief Physitian, Porphyry the chiefest Aristotelian; and Plotinus the chief Plaionist, who were profest enemies to Christ and his truth. So was Libanius and Lucian the chief scho­lars of their time. None miscarry oftner then men of greatest parts. None are so deep in hell as those that are most knowing. They see no more into the mystery of Christ, then illiterate men do into the profound points of Astronomy. As a man may look on a trade and never see the mystery of it: or he may look on the letter, and never understand the sense: so here.

Verse 9. Eye hath not seen, &c.] It is reported of one Adria­nus, that seeing the Martyrs suffer such grievous things, he asked the cause, one of them answered, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. The naming of which Text so wrought upon him, that afterward he became a Martyr.

The things which God hath prepared] As he prepared Para­dise for Adam; so heaven for all his. Yet he reserves not all for the life to come, but gives a few grapes of Canaan in this wil­dernesse.

Verse 10. But God hath revealed] The Chineses use to say of themselves,D [...]scrip. of the world, Chap. of China and Cathaia. That all other Nations of the world see but with one eye, they only with two. This is most true of the naturall man com­pared to the spirituall.

Verse 11. Save the Spirit, &c.] Man knows his inward thoughts, purposes and desires; but the frame and disposition of his own heart he knows not, Jer. 17.9.

Knoweth no man] How can he that cannot tell the form and quintessence, that cannot enter into the depth of the flowers or the grasse he treads on, have the wit to enter into the deep things of God, hid from Angels till the discovery, and since that, they are students in it?

But the Spirit of God] With this heifer of his therefore we must plow, if we will ever understand his riddles.

Verse 12. Not the spirit of the world] The world lieth down in that unclean one, and is under the power and vassallage of that spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, as a Smith in his forge, 1 Joh. 5.19. Ephes. 2.2. It is wholly set upon wicked­nesse, as Aaron saith of the people, Exod. 32.22.

That we might know] A sweet mercy; The Cormorants of [Page 63]the world will not let their heirs know what they will do for them, till they die. But God assures his of heaven afore-hand. Thus we have not received the spirit of this world: we cannot shift and plot as they can; but we have received a better thing, and have no reason to repine.

Verse 13. But which the holy Ghost teacheth] So that not the matter only, but words also of holy Scripture are dictated by the Spirit, and are therefore to be had in higher estimation, 2 Pet. 1.21.

Comparing] Or coapting, [...]. fitting spirituall words to spirituall matters, that all may savour of the Spirit.

Verse 14. But the naturall man] The meer Animal, [...]. that hath no more then a reasonalbe soul, and naturall abilities, Iude 19. Such was that saplesse fellow, Psal. 14.1. that may have a disciplinary knowledge, that is, by hear-say, as a blinde man hath of colours, but not an intuitive per speciem propriam. The water riseth no higher, then the spring whence it came: So naturall men can ascend no higher then nature. If the unreasonable creatures could draw a picture of God, said Xenophanes, they would cer­tainly paint him like themselves, Quià scilicet nihil animal ani­màli superius cogitare potest, because they can think of nothing a­bove themselves.

Neither can he know them] They that are blear-eyed and weak-sighted, if at any time they set themselves to see better into a thing, they see the worse: So here. Nay more,Vives in Aug. de civ Dei. l. 22. cap. 6. in our nature there is an antipathy to divine truth. We love the law better then the Gospel, and any truth better then the law.

Because they are spiritually] Ambrose reads, Because he is spiritually judged, being delivered up to a reprobate sense. But the other reading is be [...]t [...].

Verse 15. Iudgeth all things] By his spirit of discerning, 1 Cor. 14. his spirituall senses exercised to discern good and evil, Heb. 5.14. his undoubted perswasion of that truth he pro­fesseth, Colos. 2.3. and whereof he hath fel [...] the sweetnesse, Colos. 1.9.

Is judged of no man] Of no naturall man, who can judge no more of divine truths then a blinde man can do of colours, or a sick man of meats. And herein the poorest Idiot (saith one) being a sound Christian goeth beyond the profoundest Clarks that are not sanctified, that he hath his own heart in stead of a Commentary, [Page 64]to help to understand even the most needfull points of the Scri­pture.

Verse 16. But we have the minde of Christ] This is a privi­ledge confined to the communion of Saints, to have communica­tion of Christs secrets, to be as it were of his Court and Councel. One saith of D^r Sibbs. That he was a man spiritually rationall, and rationally spirituall, one that seemed to see the insides of nature and grace, and the world and heaven, by those perfect anatomies he had made of them all.

CHAP. III. Verse 1. Could not speak unto you]

VNlesse I would beat the air, and lose my sweet words, q. d. You quarrell me for a shallow triviall teacher, when your selves are in fault, as not yet capable of more mysterious matter. Our Saviour preached (not as he could have preached, but) as the people were able to hear, Mark 4.33. So the Authour to the He­brews, chap. 5.11. Some impute their not profiting to the Mini­ster, as he in Seneca, that having a thorn in his foot, complained of the roughnesse of the way, as the cause of his limping. Or as she in the same Authour, that being struck with a sudden blindenes bad open the windows, when as it was not want of light, but want of sight that troubled her.

As unto carnall, even as unto babes] Or, At least as unto babes, not yet past the spoon, and that must have their meat ma­sticated for them by their nurses.

Verse 2. I have fed you with milk] Ministers must condescend to their hearers capacities, though they be slighted for so doing, as Paul was; or jeared, as Isaiah, chap. 28.9, 10. for his line upon line,Moses his choice, 375. precept upon precept, Kau lekau, and Zau lezau; The sound of the words carries a taunt, as scornfull people by the tone of their voice and riming words, scorn at such as they despise.

Verse 3. For ye are yet carnall] It is a shame for Christians to be like other men, as Sampson was after he had lost his ha [...]r.

Envying and strife, &c.] These overflowings of the gall and spleen, came from a fulnes of bad humours.

And walk as men] Christians should be as Saul was, higher then the people by head and shoulders. Something singular is ex­pected from them, Matth. 5.47. they should have their feet where other mens heads are, Prov. 15.24. When we do evil, we work do nostro & secundum hominem, we do our kinde, as the devil when he speakes lies, speakes, De suo, of his owne, Joh. 8.44.

Verse 4. For when one saith, &c.] So those that will needs be called Lutherans, Jurant (que) in verba magistri. Did not Lu­ther play the man, when he and other Dutch Divines advised Phi­lip Lantgrave of Hesse, a pious Prince to marry a second wife that is an adultresse, whiles his lawfull wife was yet alive?Zanch. Mi [...]l. Epist. de [...]licat. And might he not deceive, and be deceived in other things as well as in that?

Are ye not carnall?] Nay, Will not the world thinke ye are mad? As the Apostle speaks in a like case, 1 Cor. 14.23.

Verse 5. But Ministers] Not Masters, as Magistri nostri Parisienses, so the Sorbonists will needs be called,Presat, in 1, Sentent. contrary to Jam. 3.1. Bacon the Carmelite was called Doctor resolutissimus, because he would endure no May Bees.

Verse 6. But God gave the encrease] The Harp yeelds no sound, till it be touched by the hand of the Musician. The heart is never made good, till the heavens answer the earth, Hos. 2.21. till God strike the stroke. Holy Melancthon being newly convert­ed, thought it impossible for his hearers to withstand the evidence of the Gospel. But soon after he complained that old Adam was too hard for young Melancthon.

Verse 7. So then neither is he, &c.] This made Cyril to con­clude his Preface to his Catechisme, with M [...]um est docere, ve­sirum auscultare, Dei perficere. I may teach, and yen hear, but God must do the deed, when all's done. Else, we may preach and pray to the wearing of our tongues to the slumps (as Bradford said) and to no more purpose then Bede did, when he preached to a heap of stones.

Verse 8. And he that watereth are one] Why then are not you at one? Should ye not follow your leaders, presse their foot­steps?

Shall receive his own reward] Those ambitious Doctours that draw disciples after them, hunting after popular applause (that [Page 66]empty blast of stinking breath) shall have that for their reward; let them make them merry with it. When faithfull Ministers shall shine as stars, Dan. 12.3.

Verse 9. For we are labourers, &c.] Let Ministers hence learn their, 1. Dignity. 2. Duty. Fructus honos oneris, fructus honoris onus. Who would not work hard with such sweet com­pany?

Verse 10. As a wise master-builder] Artificers also have their wisdom,Arist. Ethic. lib. 6. cap. 7. as Aristotle yeeldeth. For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him, Isa. 28.26. As he did Bezaleel, and Aholiah.

Verse 11. Which is Iesus Christ] The Doctrine of his person and offices is the foundation of Christian religion: and must there­fore be kept pure and entire by all means possible. Arrius his [...], would not be yeelded: nor Nestorius his [...], for [...] So religious were the old Bishops that they would not alter or exchange a letter or a syllable in these fundamentals. Every particle of truth is precious, and not to be parted with.

Verse 12. Wood, hay, stubble] Rhetoricall strains, philoso­phicall fancies, that tend not to edification. There are that toge­ther with the gold, silver and ivory of sound and savoury truths, have, as Solomons ships had, store of apes and peacocks, conceits and crotchets. Now if he that imba [...]eth the Kings coyn deserve punishment, what do they that in stead of the tried silver of divine truths, stamp the name and character of God upon Nehushtan, their own base brazen stuff?

Verse 13. For the day shall declare it] That is, The light of the truth, or time the father of truth, or the day of death, when many recognize and recant their errours, shall shew them their sinne.

Verse 14. If any mans work abide] Errour as glasse is bright, but brittle and cannot endure the hammer or sire, as gold can; which, though rub'd or melted, remains firm and orient.

Verse 15. He shall suffer losse] Of his work (his laborious losse of time) and of some part of h [...]s wages.

Yet so as by fire] Not of Purgatory (a Popish fiction) but of the holy Ghost. Or (as one interprets it) like unto them who save themselves naked out of the fire, without carrying away any of their goods: so his person shall be saved, but he shall not have the reward of a well qualified Minister.

Verse 16. Ye are the temple of God] Not Gods building only, as vers. 9. but his Temple. A mud wall may be made up of any thing, not so the wals of a Temple or Pallace: that must have other materials.

And that the Spirit of God, &c.] Next to the love of Christ in dwelling in our nature,D. Sibbs [...] Eph. 9.30. we may wonder at the love of the holy Ghost, that will dwell in our defiled souls. Let our care be to wash the pavement of this temple with our tears, to sweep it by repentance, to beautifie it with holines, to perfume it with pray­ers, to deck it with humility, to hang it with sincerity. Delica­ta res est spiritus Dei. The holy Ghost will dwell in a poor, so it be a pure house. Religion loves to lie clean, as was a grave speech of an ancient Saint.

Verse 17. Which temple ye are] Man is Gods temple: God, mans altar. Demosthenes could say, That mans heart was Gods best and most stately temple, Iustitiâ, verecundiâ, & observan­tiâ legum communitum. Contra Aristog.

Verse 18. Let no man deceive himself] Bis desipit, qui sibi sa­pit. Consily satis est in me mihi,said she in the Poet.Arachne ap. Ovid. Metam. Nothing so easie as to over-ween.

Let him become a fool] Let him come to the well with an em­pty pitcher. Intùs existens prohibet alienum. Agur (if a man may believe him) is more brutish then any man, Pro. 30.2, 3. See there how he vilifies, yea nullifies himself before God. So did blessed Bradford, as appears by the subscriptions of many of his letters.Act and Mon. fol. 1507.

Verse 19. He taketh the wise] Those naturall bruit beasts made to be taken and destroied, 2 Pet. 2.12. God takes them, [...]. and makes fools of them.

Verse 20. Of the wise] Such as excell in naturall gifts, that are the choisest and most picked men. The Psalmist saith only of men, Ps. 94.12.

Verse 21. Let no man glory in men] That is, that they are such an ones schollars or followers; seeing the Church is not made for them, but they for the Church.

Verse 22. All are yours] Though not in possession, yet in use, or by way of reduction, as we say, the worst things are Gods childrens, and in reversions those best things a­bove.

Verse 23. And ye are Christs] We hold all we have in Capite [Page 68]tenure in Christ. From Christ therefore let us take our denomi­nation. The name of Jesuites savoureth of blasphemous ar­rogance.

CHAP. IIII. Verse 1. Let a man so account]

QƲasi dicat, Though we are yours, as Chap. 3.22. devoted to the service of your faith, yet are we not to be slighted, but re­spected as Christs high stewards. Ministers of Christ] Gr. [...] Vnder-rowers to Christ the Master­pilot, helping forward the Ship of the Church toward the haven of heaven.

Stewards of the mysteries] Dispensing all out of Gods goods, and not of our own; setting bread and salt upon the table (that is preaching Christ crucified) what ever else there is.

Verse 2. That a man be sound faithfull] Giving every man his due proportion of fit food, Mat. 24.45. not as he in the emblem, that gave straw to the dog, and a bone to the asse.

Verse 3. But with me it is, &c.] A good Minister reviled, may reply, as once a Steward did to his pa [...]onate Lord, when he called him knave, &c. Your honour may speak as you please, but I believe not a word that you say; for I know my self an honest man, [...] F [...]sl. lib 22 cap. 34. Dio [...]. Dio Act. and Mon. fol. 1356. Non curo illos censores, qui vel non intelligendo reprehen­dunt, vel reprehendende non intelligunt, saith Augustine. Au­gustus did but laught at the Satyres and buttoniers, which they had published against him. Severus the Emperour was carefull of what was to be done by him, But carelesse what was said of him. Doc well and hear ill is written upon heaven gates, said M^r Brad­ford the Martyr. Thou art an hereticke, said Woodroofe the She­rifte to M^r Rogers the protomartyr in Queen Maries daies. That shall be known, quoth he, at the day of judgement. Some men slatter me,Polic epist. l. 3. ep. 24. saith Politian, some others slander me, I think neither the better nor the worse of my self for that: no more then I think my self taller or lower for that my shadow is longer in the morning and shorter at noon.

Verse 4. Yet am I not, &c.] Paul a chosen vessel, but yet an earthen vessel, knew well that he had his cracks and his flaws, which God could easily finde out.

Verse 5. Ʋntill the Lord come] Tot argumenta quot verba, saith Paraeus. Every word here hath it's weight. There shall be a resurrection one day of names, as well as of bodies: let that stay us, when belied or misreported.

Verse 6. I have in a figure, &c.] i. e. I have represented and reprehended your partialities under our own names, when I brought you in saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, &c. 1 Cor. 1.12. For the heads of your factions were your own ambitious Doctors, whose names yet I spared, and took the busines upon my self and Apollos, for your sakes.

Verse 7. For who maketh thee] He directeth his speech to those Theologi gloriae, as Luther usually called such, those vain-glorious, self-ascribing Pastours at Corinth, that sought to bear away the bell from Paul; and would not stick to answer this demand of his,Greenincbonius. Quis te discernit? As that insolent Arminian did, Ego meipsum discerno, I make my self to differ.

And what hast thou, &c.] There are that would hammer out their own happinesse, like the Spider, climbing by the thred of her own weaving, with Motto accordingly, Mihi soli debeo

Why dost thou glory] As great a folly, as for the groom to be proud of his masters horse, the stage-pla [...]er of his borrowed robes, or the mud wall of the Sun-shine. Of all the good that's in us, we may well say as the young man did of his hatchet, Alas, master, it was but borrowed.

Verse 8. Now ye are rich] Crescit oratio, saith Piscator here. The Apostle riseth in his expressions; and that all along by an ironicall reprehension. These Corinthians had riches, and gifts and learning: and carried aloft by these waxen wings, they domi­neered and despised others.

Verse 9. As it were men appointed to death] As when he fought with beasts at Ephesus. The Heathens in their publike calamities would commonly call out, Christianos ad leones, Tertul. Apol. cap. 40. to the lions with these Christians, as if they had been the cause. Ignatius suffered in this sort.

A spectacle to the world] As those that were first led in tri­umph, and then had back again to the prison,Piscat. there to be strangled.

Verse 10. We are fools, &c.] Not to the world, but in your account too, For these Corinthians undervalued and depressed [Page 70] Paul under their silly shallow-headed Verbalists, not wor­thy to carry his books after him, for found and substantiall learning.

Verse 11. Even to this present] Thus he complaineth, not out of impatience (for he was active in his sufferings) but to stain their pride, that permitted it so to be, when it in their power to have relieved him.

Verse 12. And labour, working, &c.] Whereas they might object, Are you hungry, thirsty, naked? It's because you are idle. No, saith he, We labour, working with our hands ( [...] shame for you to suffer it) and yet can hardly sweat out a poor living.

Verse 13. Being defamed, we entreat] Though Luther call me devil, said Calvin, yet I will honour him, as a servant of God.

We are made as the filth of the world] q. d. The filth of filth; for the whole world lies in wickednesse, as a foul sloven in a slow, or as a carrion in the slime of it. The word signifies, The sweepings of the world, [...]. or the dirt scraped off the pavement thereof.

And the of-scouring of all things] Detersorium, sordes, pur­gamenta, reject [...]menta. Piaculares & obominales, saith Pa­raeus. The word signifies,M Burrows. the dung-cart (saith one) that goes thorow the City, into which every one brings and casts his filth. Every one had some filth to cast upon Paul and the Apostles. Con­stantine a Citizen of Rhoane with three others, being for defence of the Gospel condemned to be burned, were put into a dung cart: who thereat rejoycing,Act. and Mon. fol [...] 20. said that they were reputed here the excre­ments of the world, but yet that death was a sweet odour unto God. Budaeus is of opinion that the Apostle here alludeth to those expiations in use among the heathen, performed in this manner. Certain condemned persons were brought forth with Garlands up­on their heads in manner of sacrifices: these they would tumble from some steep places into the sea,Bud Pandec. oftering them up to Neptune with this form of word, [...], Be thou a propitiation for us. So for the removall of the pestilence they sacrificed certain men to their goods: these they called [...],Suidas in [...]. filth, loading them with revilings and cursings.

Verse 14. To shame you] An innocent person sometimes, up­on the fulnesse of an aspersion, may conceive shame, as David dip, Psal. 44.15. yet usually shame is the effect of an evil con­science, [Page 71]and may prove, by Gods blessing, a means of repentance, 2 Thess. 3.14.

Verse 15. Ten thousand instructers] Gr. Pedagogues, who oft prove Orbiliusses, sharp and severe above measure, Verberi­bus pluunt, colaphis grandinant. So did these Corinthian school­masters, 2 Cor. 11.20. They were also too well skilled in the Do­rick dialect, crying, Give, Give: and taught little more then ele­gant elocution.

Verse 16. Be ye followers of me] As dear children.Ovid. A bove majori discit ar are minor. Constantines children resembled their father exactly, they put him wholly on, saith Eusebius, and were, as it were, very he. [...]

Verse 17. For this cause] That ye may be followers of me, and know what I do.

Of my waies which be in Christ] It is of excellent use to know what good men, especially Ministers, do, as well as what they say. Ministers lives should be a transcript of their Sermons, or as so ma­ny Sermons on the life of Christ.

Verse 18. Now some are puffed up] Swelling in the body is an ill symptome: So it is in the soul. A swelling wall will shortly fall.

Verse 19. The Kingdom of God] i.e. The administration of his Ordinances and Government of the Church.

Verse 20. With a rod, or in love?] Both: but (as children) we think not so. Sed sinite virgam corripientem, ne sentiatis malleum conterentem, saith one Father.Bern. Hieron. Non erudit pater nisi quem amat, nec corripit nisi quem diligit, saith another.

CHAP. V. Verse 1. As is not so much as named]

TO wit, Without detestation. The Apostle seems to allude to Antiochus Soter, who married his step-mother Stratonice, being first like to die for love of her, as Erasistratus the Physitian told his Father.Aelian. Of this incestuous marriage came Antiochus Theos, or Antiochus the god, so called of the Milesians, because he did put down their tyrant Timark. This god was poisoned by his wife Laodice.

Among the Gentiles] In Mexico and those parts, whore­dome, [Page 72] Sodomy, Sir Fra Drake his World en­compas. 58. and incest (those Spanish vertues, as one calleth them) are common without reproof: the Popes pardons being more ri [...]e in those parts, then in any part of Europe for these abo­minable filthinesses, whereout he sucketh no small advantage. Notwithstanding the Indians abhor this most lothsome living: shewing themselves in respect of the Spaniards, as the Scythians did in respect of the Grecians, whom they so farre excelled in life and behaviour, as they were short of them in learning and know­ledge. Who hath not heard of the abhorred incest of the house of Austria? Spec. Europ. King Philip 2. could call Arch-duke Albert, both bro­ther, cousin, nephew and son. For all this was he to him either by bloud or affinity: being uncle to himself, cousin germane to his father, husband to his sister, and father to his wife; and all this by papall dispensation. The Papists themselves write with detestation, that in Rome a Jewish maid might not be ad­mitted into the Stews of whoredome,Espenc de conti­nen. l. 3. cap. 4. unlesse she would be first baptized.

That one should have his father wise] Ethelbald King of West-Saxons, with great infamy marrying his fathers widdow Judith, enjoy'd his kingdom but two years and a half.Daniel hist of Ergl 1 2.

Verse 2. And ye are puffed up] And yet ye are puffed up (so Piscator reads it) viz. with your spirituall gifts, and your brave teachers: whereas you have more cause to be cast down for your other mens sins now made yours, because unlamented by you.

And have not rather mourned] That any of you should incur the censure of excommunication: at which time they did ancient­ly fast and lament.

Verse 3.Have judged already, &c.] q. d. I by mine Apostoli­call authority do excommunicate him. And yet how fiercely doth learned Erassus contend with Calvin and Beza about Excommu­nication, denying the Church any such power?

Verse 4. With the power of our Lord] Promised, Matth. 18.18 19, 20. This makes it to be a heavy case to be rightly excommu­nicated. Indeed it may fall out that Jonas shall be cast out of the ship, when Cham shall be reserved in the Ark. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my names sake, said (for a pretence) let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed, Isa. 66.5. When the sentence of Excommunication began with, In [...]omine Domini, to be read [Page 73]against a certain Martyr, he cried out, as well he might, You be­gin in a wrong name. And another of them,Act. and Mon. sol 1862. together with his five fellow-sufferers, did formally excommunicate their perse­cutours.

Verse 5. To deliver such an one to Satan] That he may learn not to blaspheme, that is, not to cause others to blaspheme or speak evil of the good way of God, for his stagitious courses.

Verse 6. Your glorying is not good] It is the height of wicked­nesse to glory in wickednesse, as Lamech Gen 4. and Alexander Pheraeus, who consecrated the Javelin,Plato. wherewith he had slain Polyphron. Protagoras boasted that he had spent fourty years in corrupting of youth. Mark Antony vomited out a book concern­ing his own ability to eat and drink much. Joannes a Casa, Act. and Mon. 1517. Dean of the Popes chamber, wrote a Poem in commendation of his own beastly sin of Sodomy. And Stokesly Bishop of London in King Henry 8. time, lying at point of death, rejoyced,Ibid. [...]025. boasting that in his life time he had burned fifty heretikes, that is, good Chri­stians.

A little leaven leaveneth, &c.] One spoonfull of vinegar will soon tart a great deal of sweet milk: but a great deal of milk will not so soon sweeten one spoonfull of vinegar.

Verse 7. As ye are unleavened] viz In part sanctified. E­very new man is two men. Many a one that is merry in company, hath a shrew at home; so have the best their inward troubles. The comfort is, that God overlooks our involuntary infirmities, and accounts us unleavened, when yet there is much still to be purged out. The leper, when his leprosie began but to heal, was pronoun­ced clean; because then he went on still to heal, and his leprosie to shale off.

Verse 8. Let us keep the feast] The benefits we receive by Christ should crown the Kalendar or our lives with continuall fea­stivals: Yea, make us everlastingly merry at our convivium juge of a good conscience. Diogenes could say,Plut. That a good man keeps every day holy-day. And the Jews were bound to re­joyce at all their feasts, Eat therefore thy meat with joy, and drinke thy wine with gladnesse, sith God now accepteth thy works, Eccles. 9.7.

Verse 9. Not to company with fornicatours] Dion Chriso­stome saith, [...]. That Corinthus was the most luxurious and lascivious [Page 74]City in the world.Lib. 8. Strabo saith, that Venus had a most stately Temple there, that was kept by above a thousand beautifull curti­sans. Another saith, that it was the brothel-house of Greece, and a most filthy Mart-town of abominable lusts.Molin. Anat. Ar [...]inianis.

Verse 10. Yet not altogether, &c.] Here he lets them know that in that former Epistle (not extant now) he meant not that they should wholly sever themselves from those wicked that are yet without the Church (for that they cannot do) but from profligate professours, discinct Christians, that they may be a­shamed.

Verse 11. Not to keep company] Gr. Not to be mingled with them. [...] The rivers of Peru, after they have run into the main sea, yea some write 20. or 30. miles, they keep themselves unmixed the salt water: so that a very great way within the sea, men may take up as fresh water,Abbots Geog. 331. Blunts voy. p. 10. as if they were near the land. So, at Bel­grade in Hungary where the Danuby and Sava (two great rivers) meet, their waters mingle no more then water and oil, &c. We must so converse with the wicked, as that we commingle not, by holding any needlesse society with such, no not with him that is called a brother, but belies his profession. Yet still must we per­form to such, though excommunicated, offices of charity, natu­rall and civill duties, as those of parents toward their children, of children toward their parents, and the like.

Verse 12. Them also that are without] These come not under the verge of Church-censures, Revel. 22.15.

Verse 13. [...]. Therefore put away] Gr. Ye will put away, q. d. I hope you will, though hitherto ye have not. Soft words and hard arguments do soonest prevail: Especially when we reprove or admonish not in our own, but in Gods words, as here the Apostle doth out of Deut. 13. Some warmth must be in a reproof, but it must not be scalding hot. Aegros, quos potus fortis non curavit, ad salutem pristinam aqua tepens revocavit, saith Gre­gory. They that could not be cured with strong potions, have been recovered with warm water.

CHAP. VI. Verse 1. Goe to law before the unjust]

ALl unbelievers are, 1. Void of Christs righteousnesse imputed. 2. Of true civill righteousnesse, as being self-seekers in all. 3. They oppresse the Saints, and draw them before the judgement­ [...]ats. Jam. 2.6.

And not before the Saints] Christians first brought their causes before the Bishops to be judged. And hence grew their power (as Paraeus noteth) which the Christian Emperours first would not, and afterwards could not take away from them. This raised Pa­pacy and Prelacy to such an height; they would be Princes as well as Bishops.

Verse 2. Shall judge the world] That is, The wicked, called the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea, Revel. 12.12. in oppo­sition to the Burgesses of the new Jerusalem, Phil. 3 20. And let this comfort us under the perverse censures of worldly men, mad and besides themselves in point of salvation. The Lord seeth that their day is coming, Psal. 37.13.

Verse 3. Things that pertain to this, &c.] That serve to, and satisfie the body only, being nec vera, nec vestra, Luke 16.11, 12.

Verse 4. If then ye have judgements] As the Corinthians being many of them merchants, had many law-sutes. But if mens hearts were not bigger then their sutes, there would not be half so many.

Who are least esteemed] Rather then go to law before Heathen Judges. The lowest, if of any judgement, are high enough for such a purpose. Why should those sordida poscinummia qui la­trocinia intra mania exercent, as Columella hath it, those Cru­menimulgae, the unconscionable Lawyers make a spoil of us; and then when they die build Hospitals for fools, as one of them did, saying, Of fools I got my estate, and to fools I will leave it?Purchas his Microcosm. Of those that go to Law, we may well say, as Charoudas once did of those that go to sea, Se non mirari qui semel mare ingressus sit, sed qui iterum, that he marvelled not at those that went once,S [...]apl. mor [...]do, 2. post pent. but at those that would go again.

Verse 5. No, not one that shall be able] Our late Judge Dicr, [Page 76]if there came any controversies of poor men to be tried afore him, would usually say,The pr [...]ct. of Queenesse, p. 270. that either the parties are wilfull, or their neigh­bours uncharitable, because their lutes were not quietly ended at home.

Verse 6. But brother goeth to law] Once it was counted o­minous to commence actions,Caes com. and follow sutes. Of common bar­retters, we may say as the Historian doth of Mathematicians, Ge­nus hominum quod in nostra repub. & vetabitur semper, & reti­n [...]itur. Ta [...]t. l. 1. c. 1.

Verse 7. [...]. There is utterly a fault] Gr. Adisgrace, a losse of victory. q. d. By your litigious lawing one another, you betray a great deal of weaknesse and impotency of affection. These be ig­noble quarrels, Ʋbi & vinc [...]re, inglorium est, & atteri sordidum. See the Note on Rom. 12.21.

Because ye go to law] Lightly, for every small offence (which if Mahometans do, they are publikely punished) and with spite­full vindictive spirits: whereas in going to law men should not be transported with hate or heat; but as Tilters break their spears on each others brests, yet without wrath or intention of hurt, so, &c. The French are said to be very litigious, and full of Law­sutes.

Verse 8. Nay you do wrong] In person and name.

And defraud] Of goods and estate.

And that your brethren] Which very name should charm and allay all discords,In [...]thie. as betwixt Abraham and Lot, Gen. 13 8. Aristo­tle could say, It is better to suffer wrong then to do it. And I know how to bear injuries, [...]. said Chilo to his brother, who took it ill that he was not chosen to be one of the Judges.

Verse 9. Shall not inherit] It is an undefiled inheritance, 1 Pet. 1 4. no dirty dog ever trampled on that golden pavement, Revel. 22.15. Heaven spewed out the Angels, shall it lick up the unrighteous? The Serpent could s [...]ue himself into paradise, but no wicked could ever get into heaven.

Verse 10. Nor theeves, nor covetous] These two be fitly set together, as near akin, so are drunkards and railers.

Nor extortioners] Whose sin is properly immoderate getting, as that of the covetous consists in pinching and saving. So 1 Tim. 3.3.

Verse 11. Such were some of you] Oh the infinite goodnesse of God that would once look upon such walking dunghils, such mon­strous miscreants [...]

But ye are washed] In generall: As in particular, 1. Ye are sanctified] And that by the Spirit of our God. 2. Ye are justi­fied] And that in the Name, or by the righteousnesse of our Lord Jesus Christ. His bloud cleanseth us from sins both guiltinesse and filthinesse. It is like to those soveraign mundifying waters, which so wash off the corruption of the ulcer, that they cool the heat and stay the spread of the infection, and by degrees heal the same.

Verse 12. All things are lawfull] viz. All indifferent things amongst which the Corinthians reckoned not only meats and drinks, but also fornication (their Nationall sin.) The devil per­haps had perswaded them, as he hath done the Turks at this day,Llunts voiage. that God did not give men such appetites to have them frustrate, but enjoyed, as made for the gust of man, not for his torment, wherein his Greatour delights nor. Now the Apostle grants that for [...]dats all things are lawfull (yet in case of offence or intemper­ance, they may become inexpedient, and so, unlawfull.) But for fornication, it was utterly unlawfull, as he proves by many power­full arguments.

But I would not be brought] As those swinish surfetters, that wearing their brains in their bellies (with the Aster fish) their guts in their heads, do dig their graves with their own teeth: being like the Mule which cannot travell, they say, without a bottle of hay hanging at his nose.

Verse 13. God shall destroy,] The belly shall be destroied in the other world, not for the substance of it, but for the use of it. And the same may be said for the difference of sexes: the parts shall re­main, the use cease: Ca [...]o said well, that he was an ill common­wealths man, Qui inter guttur & inguen, cuncta sub ventris ditia­ne positisset, that was a slave to his sensuall appetite.

Verse 14. And will also raise us up] He will make our vile bodies to be like unto his glorious body the standard? Shall we then defise them with the kitchin-stu [...]e of un­cleannesse?

Verse 15. Shall I then take] Scipio, when a harlot was of­fered him, said, Vellem, si non ess [...]m Imperator, I would, if I were not a Generall, Say thou, If I were not a Chri­stian.

Verse 16. Is one body] By a most strict, but vitious and infa­mous bond (saith an Interpreter) which is sufficient to unty or [Page 78]break any other bond though lawfull and holy, either corporall or spirituall.

Verse 17. Is one spirit] That is, One spirituall body: whiles Christ laies hold on us by his Spirit, we lay hold on him by faith. Hence the Church is called Christ, 1 Cor. 12.12. and the fulnes of Christ, Eph. 1.23. We have the honour of making Christ perfect, as the members do the body.

Verse 18. [...] Flee fornication] With post-haste flee it. Laera ve­nire Venus, tristis abire solet. Be not of those men that are called Borboritae of their mity filthinesse, whom Epiphanius and Oecu­menius speak of.

Verse 19. That your body is the Temple] Shall we make the Temple of God, the stews of Satan? See Chap. 3.16. Antiochus and Pompey never prospered after that they defiled the Temple.

Verse 20. Ye are bought] Shall I drink the bloud of these men, said David? So, shall I abuse my body the price of Christs bloud, abandon it to Venery, &c?

Glorifie God in your body] The very Manichees that denied God to be the authour of the body, fasted on Sabbath daies, and in fasting exercised an humiliation of the body.

CHAP. VII. Verse 1. Whereof ye wrote unto me]

CErtain cases of conscience they had propounded, which here he answers.Act. and Mon. fol. 789. This he could do excellently, and so could Luther, as having had experience, and been much beaten and exercised with spirituall conflicts. Conscience is a diamond, and will be wrought on by nothing but dust of diamond, such as contrition hath ground it to.

It is good for a man] Now since the fall, it is good, i. e. con­venient for the many troubles of the married estate. It is not evil to marry, but good to be wary, else conjugium may prove conjur­gium, marriage a mar-age.

Verse 2. [...]. To avoid fornication] Gr. Fornications, compre­hending all lustifull burnings, self-pollutions, and all other impu­rities of a single life. How many are there that enter into Gods or­dinance (marriage) thorow the devils portall (fornication) [Page 79]that take such liberty before, that after marriage they rue it all the daies of their lives.

Let every man have his one wife] Not many wives. Turks may have as many as they can keep. And some sensualists plead now for Polygamy. See Mal. 2.15. Scotorum Natio uxores pro­prias non habet, saith Hierom of the old Scots.

Verse 3. Let the husband, &c.] Let them be chaste between themselves, and beware both of excesse and defect. Chastity is a mans honour, 1 Thess. 4.5. And modesty is the best preserver of nuptiall chastity. Marriage as well as meats must be sanctified by the Word and prayer. God must be sent for, to blesse thy physick to the soul. Raging lust is a great enemy to conju­gall love.

Verse 4. The wife hath no power, &c.] The husbands body is servant to the wife, and the wives to the husband: they have pas­sed themselves one to another by mutuall covenant, and God keeps the bonds, prov. 2.17. Mal. 2 14.

Verse 5. To fasting and praier] Preces nobis je [...]uniis a len­dum & quasi saginandum. Fasting-daies are soul-fatting daies: praier is edged and winged thereby.

That Satan tempt you not] The temptation is strong to for­nication, stronger to adultery. Watch therefore. Our nature is catching this way: and once in, 'tis not so easie to come off. This is a searing sin, Hos. 4.11. Eph. 4 19.

Verse 6. And not of commandment] Among the Jews marri­age was not held a thing indifferent, or at their own liberty to chuse or refuse, but a binding command. Hereto Paul seems in this verse to allude.Tar. on Gen. 1.28.

Verse 7. For I would that all, &c.] He had a peculiar gift, that he was so eminently chaste: such as might be in reprobates. So Moses his meeknesse was partly from his naturall temper: And Luthers not being tempted to covetousnesse was much helped by the freenes and generousnes of his spirit.

Verse 8. I say therefore to the unmarried] Yet doth not the Apostle simply prefer virginity or viduity before marriage as bet­ter. The Saturnilian heretikes said, that marriage was of the de­vil. And the blemish will never be wiped off some of the ancient Fathers, who to establish their own I dol of I know not what vir­ginity, which they themselves had not, have written most wic­kedly and basely of marriage. If the same God had not been the [Page 80]authour of virginity and marriage, he had never countenanced vir­ginity by marriage, as he did in the blessed Virgin.

Verse 9. Let them marry] There is no lust so hot and violent, but Gods medicines rightly applied, will cool and heal. Only re­member that it is not the having, but the loving of a wife that keep [...] man chast and clean: And that God doth use to correct excesse and dalliance betwixt married couples, with strong tempta­tions after strange flesh.

Better to marry then to burn] As an Oven heated by the Baker, Hos. 7.4. As those Pagans were scalded, Rom. 1.27. and these Pa [...]agans still are, that are forbidden to marry, and yet cannot contain.

Verse 10 Yet not I] By prudentiall advice only.

But the Lord] Not in so many words, but by just consequence drawn from Mat. 19 6.

Verse 11.Ovid. Or let her be reconciled] Ʋt qua modò puguarant jungant suarostra columbae. Why should marriage couples be as glasse, that being once broke can never be pieced again? The Lord hates putting away, Mal. 2.1 [...].

Verse 12. Let him not put her away] For to the pure all things are pure. Ʋxoris vitium aut tollendum, aut tolerandum est, saith Varro in Ge [...]ius. Mend a bad wife, if thou canst: bear with her, if thou canst not.

Verse 13. If he be pleased, &c.] If he blaspheme not Christ, force her not to deny the faith, &c. as that King of Denmark that would have compelled his wise to go to Masse, who was there­fore forced to flie for her life to her brother the Electour of Brandenburg (as Luther relateth) where she died Chri­stianly.

Verse 14. But now they are holy] With a federall holinesse, and are therefore to be baptized, as being partakers of the Cove­nant of Grace. The Hab [...]ssines (a kinde of mongrell Christians in Africa) have an odde conceit, That the souls of Infants de­parting afore baptisine, are saved by ve [...]tue of the Eucharist recei­ved by the mother after conception, which sanctifies the childe in the womb.Breerwoods Enquit. 257.

Verse 15. But God hath called us to peace] To domesticall peace, Aristot. in Khe­tor. which they that want, Plus quam dimidia beatitudinis suae parte privat [...] sunt, saith Aristotle. They have lost the greater half of the happinesse of their lives. This was ve­rified [Page 81]in Phoroneus the Law-giver, and Sylla the Roman Ge­nerall.Bruson. l. 7. c. 32.

Verse 16. Whether thou shalt save] And to have any hand in saving a soul, is the highest honour.

Verse 17. But God hath distributed] In case you should not save your yoke-fellow, yet keep your station, be content with your condition, and adorn it 1 Pet. 3.1, 2. It is the duty of a Chri­stian (said Luther) to believe things invisible, to hope for things deferred, and to love God when he shews himself contrary to us.

Verse 18. Let him not become uncircumcised] Some Jews for fear of Autiochus, made themselves uncircum [...]ised, 1 Maccab. 1.16. Others for shame after they were gained to the knowledge of Christ, as here. This was done by drawing up the fore-skin with a Chirurgions instrument: And of this wicked invention E­sau is said to be the first authour and practiser.Godw. Antiq. Hebr.

Verse 19. But the keeping of the Commandment] This is that Bonum hominis, Mic. 6.8. that totum hominis, Eccles. 12.23. that one thing necessary, that is better then sacrifice, 1 Sam. 15.22. Mallem obedire, quam miracula facere, saith Luther, I had rather obey, then be able to do miracles.

Verse 20. Abide in the same calling] And therein learn to maintain good works, or to be their crafts-masters,Tit 3 8, 14. [...]. to excell in their profession, Honestis functionibus praeesse, as some render the Apostle there. These things are good and profitable un­to men.

Verse 21. Ʋse it rather] Liberty is that we lost by sin, and af­fect by nature. Servus est nomen officy. A servant is not [...], one that moveth absolutely of himself, he is the masters in­strument, and [...], wholly his, saith Aristotle. O that we could be Gods servants in that sort!

Verse 22. For he that is called] See a parallel place to this Jam. 1.9, 10. Our preferment in Christ should make us hold up our heads, but not too high, and be chearfull,Laeti simus in Domino. sed ca­veamus à reci­divo. Bern. but not withall scornfull.

Verse 23. Ye are bought with a price] The redeemed among the Romans were to addict themselves to the service of their Redeemers, and to observe them as their parents all daies of their lives.

Be not ye the servants of men] When they command you [Page 82]things forbidden by Christ, or when they would tyrannize over your consciences, as the Jesuites that require blinde obedience. Cardinall Tolet saith,Cas. Co [...]s [...]. l. 4. cap. 13. The people may merit at Gods hand in be­lieving an heresie, if their teacher propound it: for their obedience is meritorious. If a priest teach it (saith Stapleton) be it true, be it false, take it as Gods oracle. If the Church should approve and authorize Arrianisme or Pelagianisme, saith Erasmus, I would do so too.Epist. ad [...]ir­ketmer. But so would no wise man.

Verse 24. Let every man wherein, &c.] This is the same with vers. 20. The Apostle inculcateth it, as we not only a­noint our benummed limbs with ointments, but also rub and chafe them in.

Verse 25. [...]. I give my judgement] The Rhemists (after Eras­mus) render it counsell, and thereupon ground a distinction be­tween divine commands and counsels. But the word betokens, Viriboni rectum & verum judicium, In Arist, Ethic, l. 6. c. 10. saith Magirus, the right and sound judgement of some good man, And furely if the Apo­stle had no expresse command from Christ, neither had he any coun­sell from him concerning this busines.

Verse 26. I suppose therefore] This is his judgement, his vote or verdict, the first part thereof we have here: the second v. 28. the third, v. 35.

Verse 27. Art thou bound to a wise?] A manifest metaphor from Oxen.Ovid Eipst. Hence we call them yoke-fellows, Quam male inae­quales veniunt ad aratra juvenci, tam premitur magno &c. Dare not to yoke thy self with any untamed heifer that bears not Christs yoke.

Verse 28. Thou hast not sinned] If any man call lawfull mar­riage a sinfull defilement, he hath the apostate Dragon dwelling in him,Epist. ad Phila­delph. Act. and Mon. fol 790. saith Ignatius. And yet the Papists teach that it is a farre greater sinne, for a Priest to have a wife, then to keep many harlots.

Such shall have trouble in the flesh] Mark that he saith, In the flesh, the delights of wedlock will be allaied with troubles, to a­void surfet. Before marriage people promise themselves much hap­pinesse in that estate, and think they could live together with all delight: but after, they see they are deceived, and therefore need to go to school to learn how to behave themselves one toward another.

But I spare you] q. d. No more of that: and yet I'll shew you [Page 83]a way how you may scape, or at least mitigate those troubles in the flesh.

Verse 29. This then I say brethren] The best counsell I can give you, is that you hang loose to all these outward comforts, as having your selves but a while to be here: You have a long task, and but a little time. God hath hanged the heaviest weights upon the weakest wiers; for upon this moment depends eternity. Castigemus igitur mores & moras nostras: Up therefore and be doing.

The time is short] Gr. Contracted and roled up, [...]. as sails use to be by the mariners, when the ship draws night to the harbour. O­thers say, it is a metaphor from a piece of cloth rolled up, only a little left at the end: So hath God rolled up all his works: only he hath left a little at the end, and then all his glory shall appear. The time is short, saith the Apostle, and you have businesse enough ano­ther way, therefore let other things (as wiving and buying, &c.) passe, and minde the main. There is water little enough to run in the right channel, therefore let none run beside. Some that have lain a dying would have given a world for time: As I have heard (saith a reverend man) one crying day and night, Call time again. And I also have known the like of a great Lady of this Land.

They that have wives, &c.] Not be uxorious, sith they know not how soon God may take from them, as he did from Ezekiel, the delight of their eyes, their dearest Spouses. The Jews at this day have a custome, when a couple are married to break the glasse, wherein the bridegroom and bride drank: thereby to admonish them of their dying condition, and that there must be a parting a­gain ere long.Sphinx. Philos. p 4 22.

Verse 30. And they that weep] viz. In the losse of wife or children: Let them moderate their grief, as Abraham did in the losse of Sarah, Gen. 23.2. He came to weep for her: where the Hebrew hath one little letter extraordinary: To note that Abra­ham wept but a little for her; and this, not because she was old and over-worne (as the Rabbins give the reason) but because he had hope of a happy resurrection, 1 Thess. 4.14. and because she was his still, though dead: therefore he so oft in that Chapter calleth her my dead, v. 4, 11, 13, 15.

And they that rejoyce] In the marrying of wives, or birth of children. The marriage-day is called the day of the rejoycing of a [Page 84]mans heart: And when should men be merry rather then at the recovering of the lost rib?Cant. 3.11. But he was too blame that said, He had married a wife, and therefore he could not come. And he was a wiser man that said,Martial. Ʋxori nubere nolo meae.

As if they possessed not] minde earthly things we must, as if we minded them not: As a man may hear a tale, and have his minde elsewhere: or as a man that baits at an Inne, his minde is somewhere else. A right believer (saith one) goes thorow the world,M^r Ward. as a man whose minde is in a deep study: or as one that hath speciall haste of some weighty businesse. Rebus non me trado, sed commodo, saith Seneca. Be not wholly dulled or drowned in the world: look at it out of the eyes end only, lest as the Serpent Scytale, it be witch us with it's beautifull colours, and sting us to death.

Verse 31. As not abusing it] Not shooting our affections o­ver-far into it. David was as a weaned childe, Paul as a cruci­fied man. If Jobs heart had not been weaned from the world, when as yet he wallowed in worldly wealth, he could not have borne so bravely the ruine of so rich a state without repining. The devil hath no way to entangle us, but to say, as he did to Christ, Mitte te deorsum, Cast thy self down, pitch upon the bait, eat and devour hook and all.

For the fashion this world] The word signifies a mathema­ticall figure, [...]. which is a meer notion, and nothing in substance. So Psal. 39.6. Surely every man walketh in a vain shadow, he lead­eth an imaginary life, rather then a life it self. The pomp of this world is but a fantasie, Act. 25.23. (See the Note there.) The glory of it, an opinion. The word here used intimateth, that there is nothing of any firmnesse of solid consistency in the creature. It is but a surface, out-side, empty promise: all the beauty of it is but skin-deep.

Passeth away] Temporals are as transitory, as a hasty head-long torrent. The posting Sun of all worldly pleasure, after a short gleam of vain glistering, sets in the ocean of endlesse sorrow. In the Popes inthromzation, before he is set in his chair, and puts on his triple-crown, a piece of tow, or wad of straw is set on fire before him, and one appointed to say, Sic transit gloria mundi, The glory of this world is but a blaze. [...]. Falla, transver­sum agit Bud. It is indeed an Ignis fatuus, a walking fire that leadeth men into brakes and ditches. And so some render this text. The Fashion or hue of this world deceiveth, mis­leadeth, [Page 85]carrieth men another way, out of their way. For of the world we may say as Plutarch saith of Herodotus. [...]. Both the words and shews of it are full of fraud. Nec tantùm fallacia sunt quia dubia (saith Lactantius) sed & insidiosa, quia dulciae.

Verse 32. Without carefulnesse] That unavoidably attendeth the marriage-estate, Gen. 30.30.1 Tim. 5.8.

Verse 33. [...]. Careth how he may please] He taketh extraordi­nary care to please, and so doth she, v. 34. The word implies a dividing of the minde into divers thoughts, casting this way and that way, and every way how to give best content. Thus an hap­py study.

Verse 34. Careth for the things] Expeditiùs vacat.

Holy both in body and spirit] For contemplative wickednes, and mentall uncleannesse also greatly displeaseth God.In declam. Incesta est, & sine stupro, quae stuprum cupit, saith Seneca, And, Quae quia non licuit non facit, illa facit, saith Ovid. The very desire to do evil, is to do evil. The Romans punished one of their vestall virgins for uttering this verse only,

Foelices nuptae! moriar ni nubere dulce est.

Oh! 'tis a brave thing to be married.

How she may please her busband] As Sarah did Abraham, calling him Lord, as Rebecca did Isaac, by providing him the meat that he loved, as Livia did Augustus, by observing his di­sposition, and drawing evenly with him, being a piece so just cut for him, as answered him rightly in every joynt.

Verse 35. That you may attend, &c.] Gr. [...]. That you may sit close to him, as Mary did, Luk. 10.40. whilest Martha was di­stracted about much service. Let every man bend himself to banish and beat away distractions,

Nam ne (que) chorda sonum reddit, quem vult manus & mens Poscenti (que) gravem persaepè remittit acutum. Hor. de art. poet.

Verse 36. If she passe the flower] Childehood is counted the flower of age: so long the Apostle would have marriage forborne. While the flower of the plant sprouteth, the seed is green, unfit to be sowen.

Verse 37. And hath so decreed] Reserving still a liberty of doing otherwise, if need require: which Popish votaries do not.

Verse 38. Doth better] 1. For the better waiting upon Gods work without distraction. 2. For the better bearing of persecution.

Verse 39.Secundas nupti­ [...]s pro fornica­tionibus babent. Aug. She is at liberty] The Montunists therefore (and with them Tertullian in his old-age) were in an errour, that con­demned second marriage, and said it was no better then fornica­tion. Howbeit that of Hierome is not to be disliked. Think daily of death; and that will be enough to forbid the banes of second marriage.

Verse 40. But she is happier] i. e. She shall live more at ease, and have lesse to care for. And we should contract our cares into as narrow a compasse as we can, in hard times, especially.

CHAP. VIII. Verse 1. Now as touching things]

ANother case that they had propounded to him in their Letter, Chap. 7.1.

We know] So all pretend. Sed nummos habuerunt Athenienses ad numerandum, & scientiam ad sciendum.

That we all have knowledge] But that is not sufficient, unlesse we have love too. There be many things concur to the making up of a good work, a lawfull action.

Knowledge puffeth up] Swelling us above measure, unlesse humility laid on as a weight, keep us down, and charity regulate our knowledge for the good of others. Knowledge without love is as rain in the middle region. But how foolish were they of whom [...]ustin maketh mention that neglected the means of knowledge, because knowledge puffeth up, and so would be ignorant, that they might be humble, and want knowledge that they might want pride? This was to be like Democritus who pluckt out his eyes, to avoid the danger of uncleannes.

Verse 2. If any man think] This one thing I know, that I know nothing, said Socrates. Neither know I this yet, that I know nothing, saith another. Though I know my self ignorant of many things (saith a third) Yet I dare boldly professe with Ori­gen, Ignorantiam meam non ignoro, I am not ignorant that I am ignorant. The greatest part of our knowledge is but the least part of our ignorance. And yet how apt are we to think we know all that's knowable: as in Alcibiades his Army all would be leaders, none learners. Epicurus said, that he was the first man that ever [Page 87]discovered truth, and yet in many things he was more blinde then a Beetle. Aratus the Astrologer vaunted,Aug. de civ. Dei, l. 16. that he had counted the stars, and written of them all. Hoc ego primus vidi, said Zabarell. And Laurentius Valla boasted, that there was no. Lo­gick worthy to be read but his, which therefore he called,Joh. Manl [...]ae. com. Logicans Laurentinam.

Verse 3. But if any man love God] And his neighbour for Gods sake; his friends in God, his foes for God.

The same is known of him] That is, Knows him savingly, Gal. 4 9. is taught of God, 1 Thess. 4 9. who only gives true wis­dom, Jam. 1.5.

Verse 4. Is nothing in the world] A meer fiction it is, that the Idol representeth, a brat of mans brain.

None other God but one] This the wiser Heathen also acknow­ledged, and for opposing the multitude of gods Socrates suffered. Cicero in his books of the Nature of the gods, takes pains to shew the vanity of Heathen Deities. And after all wisheth that he were as well able to finde out the true God, as to discover the false.

Verse 5. That are called gods] Hesiod reckons up thirty thousand of them that were in his time. [...]. What an army may we think there were of them in after-ages?

As there be gods many] The Serpents Grammar first taught, Deum pluralitèr declinare, Ye shall be as gods, Gen. 3. saith Damianus.

And Lords many] Demy-gods, Heroes whose images were worshipped. Ninus was the first that made an Image for his Fa­ther Belus, and all that came to see it were pardoned for all their offences: whence in time that Image came to be worshipped. But they did a very ill office that first brought in Images, saith Varro (as Calvin citeth his words) for they increased errour, and took away fear. And Plutarch saith, It is sacriledge to worship by images.

Verse 6. But to us there is but one God] Be the gods of the Hea­then good-fellows (saith one) the true God is a jealous God, and will not share his glory with another.

Of whom are all things, and we for him] So that God is the first cause, and the last end of all: which two are the properties of the chief good.

Verse 7. Ʋnto this hour] Though they have been better taught [Page 88]and clearly convinced, yet they stifly retain, at least some tincture of their old odde superstitious conceits.Me ex ca opini­one, &c. De nat. deor l. 3. No mans speech, whether he be learned or unlearned (saith Cicero) shall ever perswade me from that opinion which I have taken up from mine ancestours concerning the worship of the immortall gods.

Their conscience being weak] That is, not rightly informed of the true nature of things indifferent.

Is defiled] By doing what they doubt of.

Verse 8. But meat commendeth us not] This is another obje­ction: Meat is indifferent. The Apostle answers,

Verse 9. True, it is indifferent, so it prove not a stumbling block to the unresolved. For in such a case thou must suspend thy liberty, and forbear to exercise it.

Verse 10. Be emboldened] This is, Proficere in pejus, aedifi­care in gehennam, as Tertullian hath it. Wh [...]es men look upon party-coloured objects, they bring forth spotted fruits, as Labans sheep did.

Verse 11. Thy weak brother perish] Revolt to Paganisme, or at least pollute his conscience with mortall sinne, which shall be set upon thy score. And hast thou not sins enough of thine own to answer for?

Verse 12. [...]. And wound their weak consciences] Gr. Beat upon it to make it sound heavily as a shaulm. Sin is as a stroke upon the heart, 2 Sam. 24.10.

Ye sinne against Christ] Who holds himself highly concerned in the misusages of his servants. It is an idle misprision, to sever the sense of an injury done to any of the members, from the head. Joah had slain Abner and Amasa. David appropriates it: Thou knowest (saith he to Solomon) what Joab did to me. Tho arraignment of mean malefactours [...]uns in the stile of wrong to the Kings Crown and dignity. So here.

Verse 13. While the world standeth] We must stand unchange­ably resolved, neither to give offence carelesly, nor to take offence causlesly.

CHAP. IX. Verse 1. Am I not an Apostle. &c.]

THat is to say, Do I require you to do any thing more, then I my self do daily, in parting with my proper rights? All things in a Minister should be exemplary, and for imitation, Tit. 2.7. In all things shew thy self a patern of good works. [...]. The word there used signifieth a thing that makes the stamp on the coyn, or the mould whereinto the vessel is cast and shaped.

Have I not seen the Lord?] viz. In visions and extasies. The false Apostles reported him no Apostle, because he had not conver­sed with Christ in the flesh. It is ordinary with seducers to detract from the truths Champions, that they may be the better esteemed of. Thus Bellarmine rejecteth the Fathers and others that make not for him, as heretikes. To Irenaeus, Tertullian, Eusebius and Luther (saith he) I answer, Omnes manifesti haeretici sunt, De Christo lib. 1. cap. 9. they are all manifest heretikes. So Arminius his course was to detract from the authority and fame of Calvin, Zanchi, Beza, Martyr, Synol. Dordeo. [...]. &c. that he might build himself upon better mens ruines. The Je­suites speak most basely of S^t Paul, as making much against many of their tenets: and stick not to teach in their Pulpits, That he was not secure of his preaching, but by conference with S^t Peter: Nor that he durst publish his Epistles, till S^t Peter had allow­ed them.Spec Europ.

Verse 2. The seal of mine Apostleship] See the like, Jer. 23, 22. and Mat. 21.28. where our Saviour proveth John Baptists Ministry to be from heaven, by the success.

Verse 3. Mine answer to them, &c.] Or, this is mine Apo­logy to those that cavil and quarrel my calling, viz. That I have converted you and others: a reall proof, an odular demonstration. So 2 Cor. 13.3-5.

Verse 4. To eat and to drink] At the Churches charge: so that we do it moderately without excesse, as Josiah did, and it went well with him, Jer. 22.15.

Verse 5. To lead about a sister] At the Churches charge like­wise. The Papists that deny the lawfulnesse of Ministers mar­riage, are condemned and cursed by their own Canon-law. Di­stinct. 29. and 31. See Acts and Monuments, folio 1008. [Page 90] Paphnutius opposed this proposition in the Nicene Councel, and prevailed.Hist trip. l. 2. c. 14.

Verse 6. To forbear working] At our trade? Yes, or else I should easily be of Melancthons minde, who when one had said of the Ministery, that it was the Art of Arts, and the science of sci­ences; if he had added (said Melancth [...]n) that it is the misery of miseries,Joh. Manl. loc. com 471. he had hit the nail on the head.

Verse 7. Who goeth a warfare, &c.] Ministers as they should be valiant as souldiers, diligent as husbandmen, vigilant as shepherds (Pastor, arator, aeques, &c.) so should they live of their labour, as e­very tinker and tapster doth. It's a sign of gasping devotion, when men are so close-handed to their Ministers, whose very cold water goes not unrewarded.

Verse 8. Or saith not the law] Not of Nations only, as vers. 7. but of God expressely, Verbis non solum disertis, sod & exertis?

Verse 9. Doth God take care for Oxen?] He doth doubtlesse, Jon. 4.11. he preserveth man and beast; He heareth the young ra­vens that cry to him only by implication. Doth he not then much more take care for men, for Ministers?

Verse 10. Should plow in hope] Of Maintaining his life by his labour, which is therefore called she life of our hands, because it is upheld by the labour of our hands, Ludit, qui sterili semina man­dat humo. Propert.

Verse 11. Is it a great thing, &c.] Do not we give you gold for brasse? Cast we not pearls before you? Alexander the great gave Aristotle for his book de Natura Animali [...]m 800. talents, which is 800000 Crowns at least. Theodorus Gaza translated that book into Latine, and dedicated it to Pope Sixtus. The Pope asked him,Interrogavit a­sinus pa [...]a quan­ti ornatus con­staret? &c Joh. Man [...] loc. com. 572. how much the rich outside of the book stood him in: Gaza answered, fourty crowns. Those fourty crowns he com­manded to be repaid him, and so sent him away without any re­ward for so precious a piece of work. How well might the poor old Grecian sit and sing.

Heu malè nunc artes miseras haec saecula tractant, Spes nulla ulterior, &c. Juven Satyr. 7.

Verse 12. If others be partakers] If your ordinary Pastours &c. For the false Apostles preached gratis (as some gather out of 2 Cor. 11.12.) partly to draw more Disciples, and partly to [Page 91]bring an odium upon the Apostle, if he should not doe the like.

Verse 13. Live of the things of, &c.] Yea they lived plen­tifully and richly, as appears by the liberall gift of those Levites for Passeover-offerings, 2 Chron. 35.9.

Verse 14. Even so hath the Lord] Note that [so] saith one: that is, ‘As they of old lived at the Altar by tithes: so Ministers now. How else will men satisfie their consciences in the particu­lar quantity they must bestow upon the Ministers?’ The Scripture speaks only of the tenth part.

Verse 15. Better for me to die] To be hunger-starved then to do any thing to the prejudice of the Gospel. Affliction is to be chosen rather then sin, Job 36.21. Quas non oportet mortes praee­ligere, Epist. 3. saith Zuinglius. What death should not a man chuse, nay what hell rather then to sin against his conscience? Daniel those rather to be cast into the Lions den, then to bear about that lion in his own bosome. The Primitive Christians thought it farre better to be thrown to lions without, then to be left to lusts within.Ad leonem m [...] ­ [...] [...]uam lenonē. 1 citul. Po­tiùs in ardentem rogum insiluero, quam ullum peccatum in Deum commisero, said a good man once. I will rather leap into a bone­fire, then wilfully commit any wickednesse. The Mouse of Ar­menia will rather die then be defiled with any filth.Pintus in Dan. [...]. If her hole be besmeared with dirt, she will rather choose to perish with hunger then be polluted. Such was Paul here, and such we ought all to be.

Verse 16. I have nothing to glory of] My glorying is, that I preach it gratis, and thereby stop an open mouth, a Cor. 12.16, 17, 18. give them the lie that falsly accuse me, that I make a prize of you.

Yea woe is unto me] It was death for the high-Priest to enter the Tabernacle without his bels. Preach man, preach; thou wilt be damned else, said one to his friend. Be instant, or stand over the work, in season, out of season. See Jacobs diligence, gen. 31.40. [...]. And Pauls, Act. 20.20.

Verse 17. I have a reward] Yet not earned, but of free grace, God crowning his own works in us. He was a proud Papist that said, Coelum gratis non accipiam, V [...]ga. I will not have heaven for nought. And he another, that said, Opera bona m [...]r [...]atura reg­ni coelest is, Good works are the price of heaven.Bellarm. God will cast all such merit-merchants out of his Temple.

But if against my will] Virtus nolentium, nulla est. God will strain upon no man. All his servants are a free people, Psal. 110.3. All his souldiers voluntiers. They flee to their colours, as the Doves to their windows, Isa. 60.8.

Verse 18. What is my reward then?] My merces mundi, all that I have here.

That I abuse not] i. e. M [...]lch Adam. pag. 359. That I make no indiscreet use of it. Non opes, non gloriam, non voluptates quaesivi (said holy Melancthon) Hanc conscientiam aufero, quocun (que), discedo. I never sought wealth, honour, nor pleasure. This my conscience tels me, what­ever becomes of me.

Verse 19. [...] quia [...]. That I may gain the more] The Greek word for gain, signifieth withall the joy and delight of the heart in gaining. It signifies also craft or guile, such as is that of the fox: which when he is very hungry after prey, and can finde none; he lieth down and feigneth himself to be a dead carcasse, and so the fowls fall upon him, and then he catcheth them. So must a Minister deny himself to gain his hearers.

Verse 20. And unto the Jews, &c.] Not in conforming to their impieties: but 1. In the use of things indifferent. 2. In mercifull compassion toward them.

To them that are under the law] Though not Jews borne, yet proselytes, as the Ethiopian Eunuch, Cornelius, &c.

Verse 21.Naz. That I might gain them] A metaphor from mer­chants, Qui [...], Who are never weary of taking money. S^t Paul harps much upon this string, out of a strong desire of winning soules to God. Ministers must turn themselves into all shapes and fashions both of spirit and speech to gain souls to God.

Verse 22. To the weak] Not pressing upon them the austerities of religion, but condescending and complying with them, as far as I could with a good conscience.

That I might save some] This is the highest honour in the world, to have any hand in the saving of souls. Let all of any abi­lity put forth themselves hereunto: and if they have not fine man­chet, yet give the poor people barly bread,Act. and Mon, 1453. or whatsoever else the Lord hath committed unto them, as Bucer bad Bradford.

Verse 23. That I might be partaker] i. e. That I might be sa­ved together with you. For the bell may call men to the Church, though it self never enter. The field may be well sowed with a [Page 93]dirty hand; the Well yeeld excellent water, though it have much mud. Noah's builders were drowned: and the sign that telleth the passenger there is wholsome diet, or warm lodging within, may it self remain in the storms without. See 1 Tim. 4.16. Nihil turpius est Peripatetico claudo.

Verse 24. Know ye not] The Apostle argueth from their pro­fane sports, yet approveth them not: As neither doth the Lord patronize U [...]ury, Mat. 25, 27. Injustice, Luk 16.1. Theft, 1 Thess. 5.2. Dancing, Mat. 11.17.

So runne that ye may obtain] Here is the race, [...]. but above the Crown, said Ignatius to Polycarp. Run to get the race, said M^r Bradford to his fellow-sufferers: you are almost at your jour­neys end. I doubt not but our Father will with us send to you al­so,Act and Mon. fol. 1495. as he did to Elias, a fiery charet to convey us into his King­dom. Let us therefore not be dismaied to leave our cloke behindeus, that is, our bodies to ashes.

Verse 25. Is temperate in all things] These luxurious Corin­thians were much addicted to their belly: he calls them therefore to temperance. [...]ll doth it become a servant of the highest, to be a slave to his palate, to have animum in patinis & calicibus, as the Sybarites. A man may eat that on earth, that he must digest in hell.Aug.

Verse 26. Not as uncertainly] For, 1. I forget those things that are behinde, all worldly things, I set those by. 2. I have Oculum ad me [...]m (which was Ludovicus Vives his Motto) an eye upon the mark. 3. I strain and stretch toward it. See all these Phil. 3.13, 14.

That beats the air] As young Fencers use to do, but I beat mine adversary.

Verse 27. My body] My body of sinne in the whole man, not mine outward man only. If we finde the devil practising upon the flesh, the way is, not to revile the devil, but to beat the flesh.

A castaway] Cast out of heaven, as they were out of the fen­cing-schools, that were either crosse or cowardly.

CHAP. X. Verse 1. I would not that ye should]

HIstoriae sidae monitrices, Buchole. saith one. There is very good use to be made of other mens examples. Historia hath it's name, saith Plato, of stopping the flux of errours and evil manners. For muta to nomine de to Fabula narratur. [...] in Crat. What better effects sinne hath produced in some man, it may in any man. Lege igitur histo­riam, ne sias historia.

Verse 2. And were all baptized] And yet were rooted out and rejected. Baptisme saveth; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but, &c. 1 Pet. 3.21.

Verse 3. And did all eat] They fed upon Sacraments, and yet died in Gods displeasure. The carcase of the Sacrament can­not give life, but the soul of it, which is the thing repre­sented.

Verse 4. The same spirituall drink] Here was no dry com­munion.

That spirituall rock that followed them] The waters of the rock,See Psa, 195 41 Deut 9 21. the vertue and benefit went along with them: so should the efficacy of the Lords Supper with us. We should walk in the strength of it, as Eliah did of his cake.

Verse 5. They were overthrown] They died with the Sacra­mentall meat in their mouths: our priviledges excuse us not, but ag­gravate our enormities.

Verse 6. Were our examples] Worthily are they made exam­ples that will not take them. Alterius perditio tua sit cauti [...]. The destruction of others should be a terrour to us, that we may wash our feet in the bloud of the wicked, Psal. 52.6. It is a just presage and desert of ruine, not to be warned.

As they also lusted] As at Kibroth hattaavah, where by a ha­sty testament they bequeathed a new name to the place of their buriall.

Verse 7. And rose up to play] Now if they were so chear­ed and strengthened by these murthering morsels, should not we be made active and abundant in Gods Word by the dainties of Gods Table?Knew stub. on Com.7.

Verse 8. And fell in one day] The Apostle instead of the cloke [Page 95]of heat of youth, puts upon fornication a bloudy cloke, bathed in the bloud of twenty three thousand.

Three and twenty thousand] Moses mentions 24000. where­of one thousand were the chief Princes, the others inferiours, provo­ked to sin by their example. But why doth the Apostle insist in the speciall punishment of the people?Jun paral lib. 2. p. 37. To shew (saith learned Juni­us) how frigid and insufficient their excuse is, that pretend for their sins, the examples of their superiours.

Verse 9. Neither let us tempt] By provoking him to jea­lousie, as vers. 22. especially by Idolatry, that Land-desolating sinne.

Verse 10. As some of them also] viz. Numb. 14. And God said Amen to it, vers. 28. May he not justly say the same to our detestable God-damn-me's? As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine eares, so will I do to you.

Verse 11. For our admonition] God hangs up some, as it were in gibbets, for publike ex [...]mple. See ver. 6.

Ʋpon whom the ends, &c.] These then are the last and worst daies, the very lees and dregs of time. Now the worse the times are, the better we should be: and the rather, because an end of all things is at hand.

Verse 12. That thinks he stands] If he do but think so, if he be no more then a seemer, he will fall at length into hell mouth. A man may live by a form, but he cannot die by a forme. Therefore rather seeke to be good, then seem to be so.

Verse 13. But such as is common] Such as is humane, i. e. [...] Either such as is incident to men, as men. Job 5 6. Or such as men may well bear without buckling under it: Or such as comes from men, not from devils: Ye wrestle against flesh and bloud, &c. Or you are yet only allured to idolatry, not forced by persecuti­on. You gratifie your idolatrous acquaintance with your presence at their Idol feasts; you are tempted and soone taken.

But God is faithfull] When M^r Latimer stood at the stake,Act. and Mon. fol. 1579. and the tormentours about to set fire to him and Ridley, he lifted up his eyes toward heaven with an amiable and comfortable coun­tenance, saying these words, Fidelis est Deus, &c. Ridley also at the stake, with a wonderous cheatfull look ran to Latimer, embra­ced and kisted, and as they that stood near reported,Ibid. 1605. comforted [Page 96]him, saying, Be of good heart, brother. God will either as­swage the fury of the flame, or else will strengthen us to a­bide it.

But will with the temptation] He proportioneth the burden to the back, and the stroke to the strength of him that beareth it. I thank God, said M^r Bradford, my common disease (which was a rheum with a feeblenesse of stomach) doth lesse trouble me then when I was out of prison, which doth teach me the mercifull pro­vidence of God toward me.Ibid. 1459.

Verse 14. Flee from Idolatry] He calleth their sitting at the Idols-feasts, though without intent of honouring the Idol, by the name of Idolatry: because. 1. Hereby they yeelded a tacite consent to that sinne. 2. Petty matters pave a causey for the greater.

Verse 13. I speak as to wise men] i. e. Well skilled in the do­ctrine of the Sacraments: from one of which I am about to argue. Piscator after he had read some of the Fathers, gave over for this reason, because scarce any of them did rightly understand the use and efficacy of baptisme.

Verse 16. The cup of blessing] Not the Chalice, but the com­mon cup.Diest de ratio­ne stud [...] Theol. pag. 116. Colvin chose rather to leave Geneva, then to use un­leavened bread or water-cakes at the Lords Supper. We may not symbolize with Idolaters.

Is it not the communion] Doth it not signifie and set forth, yea, as an instrument, effect and exhibite this communion?

Verse 17. And one body] By the force of faith and love, Can. 6.9. My dove is but one: the daughters saw her, and blessed her. No such onenesse, entirenesse any where as among the Saints. O­ther societies are but as the clay in the toes of Nebuchadnezzars image, they may cleave together, but not incorporate one into a­nother.

Verse 18. Are not they which eat, &c.] See Levit. 7.15. Hence he infers that these Corinthians also eating of the Idols-sa­crifices, were defiled with idolatry: a pari.

Verse 19. What say I then?] He prevents a mistake. See cha. 8.4. Ministers must in their discourses meet with all objections as much as may be.

Verse 20. They sacrifice to devils] A good intention then excuseth not. The Gentiles thought they had sacrificed to God. So do the Papists, who yet worship devils, whiles they worship [Page 97]idols of gold, and silver, and brasse, and stone, Revel. 9.20. The devil is [...], saith Synesius an Idol-lover. In epist.

Verse 21. partakers of the Lords table] Name and thing. The Popish opinion of Masse was, that it might not be celebrated, but upon an altar, or at least upon a superaltare, Act. and Mon. fol. 1111. Ibid. 1326. which must have it's prints and carects, or else the thing was not thought to be lawfully done. Our Communion Table they called an oyster-board.

And the table of devils] Redwald King of East-Saxons had in the same Church one alter for Christian Religion,Camden. and another for sacri­fice to devils.

Verse 22. Do we provoke the Lord] As Caligula that dared his Jove to a duell: As the raging Turk at the last assault of Sco­dra, most horribly blaspheming God.Tork. bist. fol. 423. Psal. 90.11. But who knoweth the power of his anger? It is such as none can avert or avoid, avoid or abide.

Verse 23.Bern. All things are not expedient] An liceat, an deceat, an expediat, are three most needfull questions. Things lawfull in themselves may be unseemly for our state and calling; unbehove­full also to the benefit of others. Think unlawfull for thee whatso­ever implies either inexpediency or indecency.

Verse 24. Let no man seek his own] Self miscarries us all, and makes us eccentrick in our motions, nothing more.

Verse 25. Whatsoever is sold &c.] A portion of the consecra­ted flesh was usually sold by [...] Pr [...]ests, who made their markets of it, as Aug [...]stine upon the Romans testifieth.

Verse 26. For the earth is the Lords] God, of his boun­ty, spreads a Table for all: Make no scruple therefore, eat freely.

Verse 27. And ye be disposed to go] Our Saviour when he saw that Johns austerity was censured, took his liberty in the use of crea­tures, and convenient company-keeping, Luk. 7.33, 34. I do not finde where ever he was bidden to any table and refused. Not for the pleasure of the dishes, but for the benefit of so winning a con­versation.

Verse 28. The earth is the Lords] Therefore in case of scandall abstain. Why shouldst thou use this creature, as if there were no more but this? Suspend thy liberty: Hast not thou all the world afore thee?

Verse 29. Why is my liberty judged] As a profane licence. We [Page 98]should be shie of the very sh [...]ws and shadows of sin, Quiequid fuerit malè color atum, as Bernard hath it: if a thing look but ill favoured, abstain from it.

Verse 30. [...]. For if I by grace] Or, By thanksgiving. The same Greek word signifies both: to teach us, that a gratefull man is a gracious man. The unthankfull and the evil are set together as the same, Luk. 6.33. God is kinde to the unthankfull and to the evil.

Verse 31. Whether therefore ye eat, &c.] Of a reverend Scotch Divine it is said, That He did even eat and drink and sleep eternall life. These common actions also are steps in our Christian walk­ing, despise them not therefore, but refer them to that supreme scope. [...]. Xenoph. Drus. Apophil. Socrates even in his recreations, profited his companions no lesse then if he had been reading Lectures to them. Plato and Xenophon thought it fit and profitable that mens speeches at meals should be written. Quicquid agas propter Deum agas, saith one. Propter te Domine, propter te, said another.

Verse 32. Give none offence] This is another end we should aim at, the edification of others. Finibus, non officys a vitys, dis­cernuntur virtutes. Augustin. Two things make a good Christian, good a­ctions, and good aims.

Verse 33. Not seeking mine own profit] This, saith Chryso­stome, is the most perfect Canon of Christianity, the top-gallant of true religion.

CHAP. XI. Verse 1. Be ye followers of me]

THis verse properly belongs to the former Chapter. The di­stinguishing of the books of Scripture into Chapters is not ve­ry ancient. But that of verses was devised and done by Robert Stephens, Pio quidem at tumultuario studio (as one saith well) with a good intent,Soult [...]t. but with no great skill, as appears here and in divers other places. The Apostle chap. 10.33. had shewed his own practice: here he cals upon them to do accordingly. As the Oxe follows the herd,Sicut bos ar­menta, sic ego bonos viros, &c. Cic, ad Attic. so will I follow good men, Etiamsi ruant, saith Cicero, although they do amisse. This was more then S^t Paul desires: Be ye followers of me, saith he: but only so far as I am of Christ, not an inch further.

Verse 2. And keep the ordinances] Gr. the traditions or do­ctrines by word of mouth. These are 1. Dogmaticall, concern­ing faith and practice, 2 Thess. 2.15. 2. Rituall, Selater, in loe. and these again are 1. Perpetuall, as that of the manner of administring the two Sacraments. 2. Temporary, as that of abstaining from certain meats, Act. 15.28, 29. And those other pertaining to the obser­ving of externall order and decency in Church-assemblies. And of these the Apostle here speaketh.

Verse 3. The head of the woman is man] Were it not an ill sight to see the shoulders above the head, the woman usurp autho­rity over the man? A prudent wife commands her husband by o­beying, [...]. 1 Tim. 1.1 [...]. as did Livia.

Verse 4. Dishonoureth his head] As they accounted it then and there. In other places it is otherwise. The French preach co­vered.B [...]unts voiage, p. 88. The Turks neither kneel nor uncover the head at publike praiers, as holding those postures unmanly. Severall countreys have their severall customs. Basiliades Duke of Muscovia shew­ed himself a tyrant in nailing an Embassadours hat to his head, for not uncovering it before him.

Verse 5. Praying or prophecying] That is, joyning with the man that praieth or prophecieth, and going along with, him in her heart. Thus the King and all Israel with him offered Sacrifice before the Lord, 1 Kin. 8, 62. And thus the unlearned sey, Amen, 1 Cor. 14.16. See the Note on Rom. 16.1.

Verse 6. For a woman to be shore] Our Hic-muliers hold it now no shame. If Henry the sixth had seen such creatures, he would have cried out, as once he did at the sight of naked brests,Daniels hist. p. 198. Fie, fie, Ladies, insooth you are too blame, &c.

Verse 7. He is the image and glory of God,] Even as an image in the glasse doth look toward us, from whom it is reflected: So (saith one) doth Gods image in us make the eyes of our minds view him the authour of it in us.Bayns letters. And as the eye becometh one with that which it seeth, and is after a sort in that light it beholdeth: so are we by the vision of God, which is begun in us, one with him and in him.

The woman is the glory of the man] Either because he may glory in her, if she be good: or because she is to honour him, and give glory to him.

Verse 8. But the woman of the man] Of a bone she was made, and but one bone, N [...] esset ossea, saith a Divine: A bone [Page 100]of the side it was,Vitia Palatina. not of the head (she is not to be his mistresse) nor of the foot (she is not to be his handmaid) but of the side, to shew that she is a companion to her husband. A bone from un­der the arm, to minde the man of protection and defence to the woman. A bone not farre from his heart, to minde him of dile­ction and love to the woman. A bone from the left side, to put the woman in minde, that by reason of her frailty and infir­mity, she stands in need of both the one and the other from her husband.

Verse 9. For the woman] sc. To serve her: unlesse it be some women,As Artemisia, Zenobla, blan­dena. Anna Atestina Guisiorum & Memorous. pa­rens. Thuan. bi [...]t l. 124. Numb. 5.18. specially called to, and qualified for government. A­mongst whom Queen Elizabeth that female-glory is famous: Of whom a great French Dutchesse said, That she was, Gloriosissi­ma, & omnium quae unquam sceptrum gesserunt foelicissima fae­mina, Besides her Sex, there was nothing in her woman-like or weak.

Verse 10. To have power] That is, a veil, called in Hebrew Radid, of Radad to beat rule. And indeed what was this subjecti­on to the husband, but a kinde of power and protection derived to the wife, in respect of her fromer estate?

Because of the Angels] Present in the Assemblies of the Saints. This was set forth of old by the hangings of the Tabernacle wrought with Cherubims within and without. Others under­stand this Text of Ministers, frequently called Angels, Hag. 1.12, 13. Revel. 2. and 3. Judg. 2.1. (that Angel is thought to be Phintas) Eccles. 5.6. Neither say thou before the An­gel (i. e. before the Lords Priest) it was an errour.

Verse 11. Neverthelesse neither is] This is added for the wo­mans comfort. There must be all mutuall respects and melting-heartednesse betwixt married couples, which being preserved fresh and fruitfull, will [...]fi [...]tely sweeten and beautifie the marriage-e­state. Love is a quom that must be exchanged betwixt them, and returned in kinde. Husbands love your wives, Colos. 3.16. He saith not, Rule over your wives, as he had said, Wives submit your selves to your husbands, but Love your wives; yea, let all your things be done in love: for neither is the man without the woman; he is not compleat without her, he wants a piece of himself: neither is the woman without the man, she cannot subsist without him, as the Vine cannot without a supporter. The rib can challenge no more of her, then the earth can of him, &c.

Verse 12. But all things of God] God consulted not with man to make him happy (saith one.) As he was ignorant while himself was made, so did he not know while a second self was made out of him: Both, that the comfort might be the greater then was expected; as also, that he might not upbraid his wife with any great dependance or obligation, he neither willing the work, nor suffering any pain to have it done.

Verse 13. Judge in your selves] All Christs sheep are ratio­nall, able to discern of things that differ, having their senses there­unto exercised, Heb. 5.14. But some sins are condemned by com­mon sense, as here: and religion is founded upon so good reason, that though God had not commanded it, yet it had been our wi­sest way to have chosen it. But lust doth oft so bleer the understand­ing, that a man shall thinke he hath reason to be mad, and that there is great sense in sinning.

Verse 14. That if a man have long hair] Bushes of vanity, which they will never part with (said Marbury) untill the devil put a caudle into the bush. But our Gallants object, That the A­postle here intendeth such hair as is as long as womens hair. Where­unto we answer. That Homer calleth the Greeks hair-nourishing men, who yet did not wear their hair long as women. [...] Home [...] How Cromwell handled the shag-haired ruffian; See Acts and Monu­ments of the Church, folio 1083. How God hath punished this unnaturall sin by that loathsome and horrible disease in the hair, called Plica Polonica; See Hercules de Saxonia: And out of him M^r Bolion in his four last things, pag 40. It begun first (saith he) not many years ago in Poland: It is now entered into many parts of Germany. And methinks our monstrous fashionists both male and female, the one for nourishing their horrid bushes of va­nity: the other for their most unnaturall and cursed cutting their hair, should every hour fear and tremble, lest they should bring it upon their own heads, and amongst us in this kingdom.Daniels Hist: 67. Our henry 1. repressed the wearing of long hair: which though it were a gaiety of no charge, yet for the undecency thereof, he refor­med it, and all other dissolutenesse. See M^r Prins Ʋnlovelinesse of love-locks.

Verse 15. Her hair is given her] Now it is a vile thing to go against nature. Cyprian and Austin say, That garish apparell is worse then whoredom: because whoredom only corrupts chastity, but this corrupts nature.

Verse 16. Seem to be contentious] Adectore glori [...]s [...], & Pa­store contentioso, & inutilibus quaestionibus, liberet Ecclesiam suam Dominus, said Luther. From a vain-glorious Doctour, from a contentious Pastour, and from endlesse and needlesse con­troversies, the good Lord deliver his Church.

We have no such custome] viz. To strive about trifles, but to submit to our teachers,Bifield on 1 Pet. 3. Heb. 13.17. It is a vile thing, saith one, to vex our Ministers by our obstinacy; yea, though they were not able to make so full demonstration, yet when they reprove such things, out of a spirituall j [...]alousie and fear that they corrupt the peoples hearts, they are to be heard and obeyed.

Verse 17. I praise you not] q. d. I discommend and dispraise you. The Corinthians were in many things faulty and blame-wor­thy. S^t Paul deals plainly and freely with them, and would not therefore take their offered kindenesse, 2 Cor. 12. lest he should be ingaged to them, and by receiving a curtesie, fell his liberty.

Verse 18. [...] There be divisions] Gr. Schismes, rents, yea, and that about the Sacrament of the Lords Supper (that bond of love) thorow Satans malice. Now there can be no greater sinne com­mitted, saith Chrysostome, Hom. 11. ad Ephes. Lib. de unitate Ecclesie Oecol. ad frat. in Suevia then to break the peace of the Church. Cyprian saith, It is an inexpiable blemish, such as cannot be washt ost with the bloud of martyrdome. The errour of it may be par­doned (saith Oecolampadius in his Epistle to the Lutherans of Suevia) so there be faith in Christ Jesus: but the discord we cannot expiate, though we should lay down our lives to doe it.

Verse 19. There must be heresi [...]s] Therefore much more schismes, which also, for most part, do degenerate into heresies; as an old Serpent into a Dragon. In the time of Pope Clement the fifth, Frederick King of Sicily was so offended at the evil government of the Church, that he began to question the truth of the Christian religion. But Arnoldus de villa nova confirmed and setled him by this and such like places of Scripture, Offences must come, there must be heresies, &c. God having so decreed and fore-told it.

May be made manifest] As they are now, if ever, in these shedding and discriminating times. So in the Palatinase they fell to Popery, as fast as leaves in Autumn.

Verse 20. This is not to cat, &c.] When the Lords Supper therefore is not rightly administred, it is no longer his; especially [Page 103]if the substantials thereof be omitted. As in those Sacrifices, Hos. 9 4. Their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord; that is, the bread for their naturall sustenance. He speaks of that meat-offering, Levit. 2.5. appointed for a spirituall use, yet called the bread for their life or livelihood; because God esteemed it no other then common meat. So Jer. 7.21. in scorn he cals their sacrifice, flesh, &c.

Verse 21. Every one taketh] Eateth and communicateth with those o [...] his own sect and faction only, not staying for others. Such among the Philippians were those of the concision, Chap. 3.2. that made divisions, and cut the Church into little pieces and suck­ing Congregations, making separation.

Verse 22. What? Have ye not houses] Here he abolisheth their love-feasts, for the disorder that fell out therein. The Greek Church neverthelesse retained them: but the Roman Church laid them down, as Justin Martyr witnesseth.

Verse 23. For I have received] Rectumest regula sui & ob­liqui. The Apostle seems to rectifie them, by reducing them to the first institution.

The same night, &c.] It was his last bequeath to his Church, for a [...], as Ignatius hath it, a soveraign both purgative and preservative.

This is my body] En praeclaram illam consecrationem, Be­hold that goodly consecration (saith Beza) for the which the Shavelings say, that they are more holy, then the very virgin Ma­ry. For that Mary only conceived Christ, but they create him.Beza in confess: 241. Whereunto the Virgin might well reply, That she carefully nou­rished Christ whom they cruelly devour. Dost thou beleeve (said the Doctour to the Martyr) that Christs body and bloud is in the Eucharist really and substantially? I believe, saith he,Act. and Mon. that that is a reall lie, and a substantiall lie. When Cranmer was brought forth to dispute in Oxford, D^r Weston Prolocutour thus began the dispu­tation,Act. and Mon. fol. 1300. Convenistis bodiè fratres, profligaturi detestandam illam haeresin de veritate corporis Christi in Sacramento, &c. At which mistake, divers learned men burst out into a great laughter.

Verse 25. He took the Cup] See the Note on Matthew 26.27.

Verse 26. Ye do shew] We need no other crucifix to minde us of Christs passion.

Till he come] There shall be a Church then, and the pure wor­ship of God, till the worlds end, maugre the malice of tyrants and heretikes.

Verse 27. Shall be guilty] Because they profane the holy sym­bols and pledges of Christs blessed body and bloud. These are in some sense, as guilty as those that spit upon Christs face, or that spilt his bloud: As the Donatists that cast the holy elements to dogs; or as that wretched Booth a Bachelour of Arts in S. Johns Colledge in Cambridge, who being Popishly affected, at the time of the Communion took the consecrated bread, and forbearing to eat it,B. Morton In­stit of the Sacr: l. 5. c. 3. convey'd and kept it closely for a time, and afterwards threw it over the Colledge-wall. Not long after this, he threw himself headlong over the battlements of the Chappel, and so end­ed his life.

Verse 28. Let a man examine] A Metaphor from Metallaries or Lapidists, as they try their mettals or precious stones, and do it exactly, that they be not cozened, so here, men must make an ex­act scrutiny.

And so let him eat] After preparation, participation. The Heathens had their caena pura, the night before their Sacrifices. The Russians receive children after seven years old to the Commu­nion, saying,Breerwoods Enquit. 135. that at that age they begin to sin against God. But can they say, that at that age they can examine themselves, and re­ceive preparedly? Chrysostome calleth the Lords Table, that dread­full table, [...] and the Ancients call the Sacraments dreadfull my­steries.

Verse 29. Eateth and drinketh damnation] He that came in without a wedding-garment on his back, went not away without fetters on his feet: He was taken from the table to the torment­ours. Gods table becomes a snare to unworthy receivers; they eat their bane, they drink their poison. Henry the seventh Emperour of Germany, was poisoned in the Sacramentall bread by a Monke. Pope Victor 2. by his sub. Deacon in the Chalice; and one of our Bishops of York by poison put into the wine at Sacrament. God will deal with ill communicants, as Job 20.23. They will speed no better then Amnon did at Absoloms feast.

Verse 30. Many are weak] The mortality at Corinth began at Gods house, and that for unworthy communicating. God will be sanctified of all that draw-near to him. He loves to be acquaint­ed with men in the walks of their obedience, and yet he takes state [Page 105]upon him in his ordinances, and will be served like himself, or we shall hear from him.

Verse 31. We should not be judged] God should be prevented, and the devil put out of office, as having nothing to say against us, but what we have said before.

Verse 32. That we should not, &c.] Ferre minora volo, ne gra­viora feram.

Verse 33. Wherefore my brethren] He that reproveth and adviseth not, doth as it were snuff the lamp, and not pour in oyl.

CHAP. XII. Verse 1. I would not have you ignorant]

TO wit, of the only authour, and true end of them,Col. 2.18. Lest ye be vainly puffed up by your fl [...]shly minde. Ignorance breeds pride, Rev. 3.17.

Verse 2. Even as ye were led] It is the misery of a naturall man that hath not his heart stablished with grace, to be carried a­way as he is led, to be wherried about with every winde of do­ctrine, to have no mould, but what the next seducer casteth him into: being blown like a glasse into this or that shape, at the plea­sure of his breath.

Verse 3. Calleth Jesus accursed] As the wicked Jews do at this day in their daily praiers and abbreviatures: And as the Gen­tiles did of old, and these Corinthians among the rest.Quorum nihil cogi posse dicun. tu [...] qui sunt revera obristi­ani. Plin. epist. But now they would rather die then do so: as Pliny writes to Trajan the Emperour, that he could never force any that were Christians in­deed, either to invocate the gods, or to do sacrifice before the Em­perours image, or to curse Christ.

And that no man can say, &c.] That is, No man can with the fiduciall assent of his heart, acknowledge Christ to be the only Lord, whom he is to worship by the lame impulsions, by which another curses and blasphemes him, but by such peculiar motives as are suggested and revealed unto him by the holy Ghost.

Verse 4. But the same spirit] As the divers smels of flowers come from the same influence, and the divers sounds in the organ from the same breath.

Verse 5. Differences of administrations] i. e. Ecclesiasticall [Page 106]functions, all of them the dona honoraria of the Lord Christ, Ephes. 4.8-11.

Verse 6. Diversities of operations] The holy Ghost may use one of lesse grace, to do more good then one of more: though he delights to honour those of most sincerity with most successe, as 1 Cor. 15.10.

Verse 7. To profit withall] We are neither born nor born a­gain for our selves. If we be not fit to serve the body, neither are we fit to be of the body: He is not a Saint that seeketh not com­munion of Saints.Paulùm set ul [...]e distat incrtie [...]elata virtu [...]. Hor. Pudeat illos, qui ita in studijs se abdiderunt, ut ad vitam communem nullum fructum ferre possint, saith Cicero, They may well be ashamed that imploy not their talents for a pub­like good.

Verse 8. The word of wisdom] The tongue of the learned, to time a word, Isa. 50.4. to set it upon it's circumferences, Prov. 25.11. to declare unto man his righteousnes, when not one of a thou­sand can do it like him, Job 33.23.

The word of knowledge] This, say some, is the Doctours of­fice, as the former word of wisdome is the Pastours. But the essentiall difference betwixt Pastours and Doctours in each Congregation is much denied by many learned and good Divines.M. Edwards his Antapolog.

Verse 9. To another faith] The faith of miracles, which a man may have, and yet miscarry, 1 Cor. 13.2. So doth not any one that hath the faith of Gods elect; that fails not, Luk. 22. Some say the Apostle here meaneth historicall faith: And this seems the more probable,Rolloc de vo­catione. because he speaketh of the working of miracles, vers. 10.

Verse 10. Discerning of spirits] They discerned not mens hearts of themselves (for so God only) but by a speciall work of Gods Spirit discovering them to their eyes, as Peter discerned A­ [...]anias, and afterwards Simon Magus, whom Philip mistook and baptized.

Verse 11. One and the self same spirit] Who yet is called, the seven spirits of God, Revel. 1.4. for his manifold and sundry ope­rations.

Verse 12. So also is Christ] Mysticall Christ, the Church. Christ the Saviour of his body (Ephes. 5.23.) accounts not him­self compleat without his Church, Eph. 1. ult. So God is called Ia­cob, Psal. 24.6.

Verse 13. For by one spirit, &c.] By the testimony of the two Sacraments, whereof we all partake, the Apostle proveth that we are all but one body, and should therefore as Bees bring all our ho­ney to the common hive.

Are we all baptized] The Apostles received all into the Church that believed and were baptized, without particular pro­bation for some daies, weeks, moneths or years, and entring into a private solemn Covenant.

And have been all made to drink] Potionati sumus, saith Pis­cator, and so prove our selves to be of the corporation and compa­ny of believers. But what was the meaning of that passage in the old Church-Catechisme, There are but two Sacraments only, as generally necessary, &c. Are there any more then two, though not absolutely and generally necessary to all men in all times, states and conditions whatsoever? The Papists themselves say, that five of their Sacraments at least, are not generally necessary.

Verse 14. Not one member, but many] As mans body curi­ously wrought, and as it were, by the book, Psal. 139.16. Had God left out an eye or hand in his common-place-book (saith one) thou hadst wanted it.

Verse 15. If the foot should say &c.] Inferiours must not en­vy those above them, but be content, [...]th it is, God that cutteth us out our severall conditions; and a Scavenger may honour God in his place, as well as a Minister in his.

Verse 16. If the ear] A man had better be blinde, lame, dumb, then deaf; because by the ear life enters into the soul, Isa. 55.3.

Verse 17. If the whole body, &c.] It is proper to God to be [...], all-eye: Sic spectat universos quafi singulos, sie sin­gulos quasi solos.

Verse 18. God hath set, &c.] And he, as only wise, doth all in number, weight and measure. Shall we not rest in what he hath done as best? What can the man do that cometh after the King? Eccles. 2.12.

Verse 19.Arist. Ethic. Where were the body?] So the body politike consi­steth not of a Physician and a Physician (saith Aristotle) but of a Physician and an husbandman, &c.

Verse 21. The eye cannot say, &c.] Superiours may not slight their inferiours, sith they cannot be without them; as one [...]ne or other they will be forced to acknowledge. It was a saying [Page 108]of Generall Vere to the King of Denmark, That Kings cared not for souldiers, untill such time as their Crowns hung on the one side of their heads.

Verse 22. Which seem to be, &c.] As the organs of nou­rishment, not so noble, but more necessary then those of the senses.

Verse 23. And those members] As the organs of excretion and generation.

Our uncomely parts, &c.] It was at the abomination of Ba­al-peor or Priapus, that his worshippers said, Nos, pudore pulso, stamus sub Jove, celeis apertis, Isa. 3. &c. God taught our first parents to make coverings to hide their nakednesse; and the contrary is oft threatned as a curse.

Verse 24. For our comely parts] A fair face needs no dresse, is it's own testimoniall, a bait without an hook, said Socrates. [...].

Verse 25. Should have the same care] As if the heel do but ake, the whole condoleth and cureth.

Verse 27. Now ye are, &c.] S. Cyprians sympathy is remark­able, Cum singulis pectus meum copulo, meroris & funeris pondera luctuosa participo: Cum plangentibus plango, cum deflentibus defleo. Hereby he shewed himself a living member.

Verse 28. Diversities of tongues] This comes in last; either to bid check to their pride, who gloried so much in their many lan­guages: or because he meant to say more to it in the words fol­lowing.

Verse 29. Are all teachers?] Yes, some would have it so; as in Alcibiades his army all were leaders, no learners.

Verse 31. [...]. Ambite. Covet earnestly, &c.] This is the best ambition. Christians should strive to excell, and be the best at what they under­take. Melancthon saith, that Frederick the Electour of Saxony, had cropt off the tops of all vertues.

A more excellent way] What was that? Charity to God and men, Chap. 13.1. Graces are better then gifts.

CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. Though I speak with the tongues]

THe Corinthians gloried much in this gift of tongues: But this a man may have, and yet perish, as Mithridates, [...], &c. Plut. who is said to have spoken two and twenty languages. And Cleopatra was a great linguist, she could give answers to Ethiopian, Hebrew, Arabick, Syrian, Median and Parthian Embassadours, saith Plutarch: yea she could turn and tune her tongues as an instrument of many strings, to what dialect she pleased.

And of Angels] Not that angels have tongues; as neither have they wings, though they are said to flie, and even unto wea­rinesse of flight, Dan 9 21. A certain Frier undertook to shew to the people a feather of the Angel Gabriels wing, and so verified the old proverb, A Frier a lier. Carltons thank. Remem. p. 174. But the Apostle here useth an high kinde of expression, such as is used, Act. 6.15. Psal 78.25. Un­lesse perhaps, saith Chrysostome here, the angels have. suo modo, sua co [...]oquia. The Schoolmen have great disputes about it, and tell us, that when an angel hath a conceit in his minde of any thing, with a desire that another should understand it, it is enough, it is done immediately. But are not these they that intrude into those things that they have not seen, Colos. 2.18. understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm, 1 Tim. 1.7. Like unto these are our new Millenaries, that upon a mistake of some high expressi­ons in Scripture, which describe the judgements poured out upon Gods enemies in making a way to the Jews conversion by the patern of the last judgement, think that Jesus Christ shall come from heaven again, and raign here upon earth a thousand years.See M. Co [...]tons sixth viol, p. 26

Verse 2. And have no charity] If I knew and did all for o­stentation, not for edification: As Stephen Gardiner,Act. and Mon. fol. 1020. who blew up his gifts to the view of others, as Butchers blow up their flesh.

Verse 4. Though I bestow all my goods] Unlesse I draw out my soul as well as my sheaf to the hungry, Isa. 58.10. Many shrink up charity to an handbreth to giving of alms.

And though I give my body, &c.] As Servetus the heretike did at Geneva, anno 1555.Calv. opusc. So Manzius the Anabaptist gave his body to be drowned at Tigure, anno 1527.Scultet. Annal. Fisher Bishop of [Page 110] Rochester to be beheaded, for holding the Popes supremacy. Fri­er Forrest to be hanged,Act. and Mon. fol. 1005. for the same cause. And how many of our Popish Martyrs (malefactours or traitours, I should say) have worne the Tiburn-tippet, as Father Latimer phraseth it? And more of them must; for they be some of them knaves all, as the L. Audley Chancellour of England once said to the 13. Cal­lice prisoners for religion,Act. and Mon. fol. 1117. whom he discharged: and like bels they will never be well tuned, till well hanged.

Verse 4. [...]. And is kinde] Or, is easie to be made use of, ready to any good office. Charity is no churl.

Vaunteth not it self] With the scorn of others. Arrianus saith,In Epictet. lib. 3. that he is [...], that blameth others, and is restlesse in himself. Such an one was Timon of old, and Laurentius Val­la alate.

Is not puffed up] Hence charity is pourtraied as a naked childe with a merry countenance, covered in a cloud, with a bloudy heart in the right hand, giving honey to a Bee without wings.

Verse 5. [...] Behave it self unseemly] Or, doth not disgrace any one.

Is not easily provoked] Fals not into any sharp fit (as they did, [...]. Act. 15.39.) so as that her teeth are set on edge, or that she should shew her anger by the trembling of the body.

Thinketh no evil] Is not suspicious, or doth not meditate re­venge.

Verse 6.D. Sclatter. Rejoyceth with the truth] Nulla est igitur inter ma­los charitas, sed conjuratio potiùs, saith a grave Expositour. It is not charity, but conspiracy that is found in wicked men.

Verse 7. Beareth all things] Covereth faults with her large mantle, [...]. dissembleth injuries, swalloweth down whole many pils, that would prove very bitter in the chewing.

Beleeveth all things] Is candid and ingenuous, yet not blinde and blockish. No man may ravish me out of my wits, saith one; to conclude as Walter Mapes did of his Church of Rome, after he had related the grosse simony of the Pope; Sit tamen Domina ma­ter (que) nostra Roma baculus in aqua fractus, & absit credere quae vidimus. If a Papist see one of their Priests kissing a woman, he is by their Canon-law bid to believe, that the Priest is giving her counsel only. Their rule to their novices is, Tu & Asinus unum estote.

Endureth all things] Love, as it is a passion, so it is tried ra­ther by passions then actions.

Verse 8. Prophecies, they shall fail] The Arch-prophet shall teach us immediately, as he had done Moses and Elias, who appearing to Christ in the transfiguration, knew, and could say far more to our Saviour for his comfort and confirmation against the bitternes of his death, then ever they could, whiles here living upon earth, Luk. 9.31.

Whether there be knowledge] Got by study and communica­ted to others. For Lilmod lelammed, say the Rabbins, we there­fore learn that we may teach.

Verse 9. We prophecy in part] We therefore know but imper­fectly, because we are taught but imperfectly. My greatest know­ledge,Melch. Adam. said Chytraeus, is to know that I know nothing. And not only in most other things am I ignorant, said Austin, Aug epist. 119. cap. 21. but even in the Scriptures (my chief study and trade of life) Multò plura nescio quam scio. The Rabbins in their Comments upon Scri­pture, when they meet with hard knots that they cannot expli­cate, they solve all with this, Elius cum venerit, solvet omnia.

Verse 10. Then that which is in part] As the old slough fals off, when the new skinne comes on. As a man returns no more to the free school, that hath proceeded in the Uni­versity.

Verse 11. When I was a childe] Adrian 6. before he became Pope, taxed the Church of Rome for many errours: but after­wards, being desired to reform them, he wickedly abused these words for an answer, When I was a childe, I spake as a childe, &c. but now being a man, &c.

Verse 12. In a glasse, &c.] See Numb. 12.8.

Even as I am known] We shall know the creatures by knowing God: as God now knows all his works, by knowing himself.

Verse 13. The greatest of these] Because longest lasting. Gifts that suppose imperfection in us, as faith and hope, or misery in o­thers, as pity, &c. shall be put away.

CHAP. XIV. Verse 1. Follow after charity]

FOllow it hot-foot, as they say: pursue and practice it. It is more then to desire or to be zealous of a thing, as it follows in the next words, [...]. be zealous of spirituall gifts. Follow charity close, as the Hunter doth his prey, [...]. or as the persecutour doth the Martyr, that will hide or escape if he can. Charity may be fitly compared to the precious stone Pantarbe spoken of by Philostratus. A stone of great beauty and of strange property.Philostr. in vit. Apollony lib 3. cap. [...]4 So bright it is and radi­ant, that it gives light in the darkest midnight. And that light is of that admirable vertue, that it brings together the stones that it reacheth into heaps, as if they were so many hives of Bees. But nature, lest so precious a gift should be undervalued, hath not on­ly hid this stone in the secret bowels of the earth, but hath also put into it a property of slipping out of the hands of those that hold it, Nisi providâ ratione teneatur, unlesse they hold it fast indeed.

Verse 2. In an unknown tongue] So they that preach in a kinde of Roman English, and not in a low language to the peoples ca­pacity.

But unto God] Canit sibi & Musis, as the proverb is: And as good he may hold his tongue, for God needs him not.

Verse 3. To edification, to exhortation] These three ends e­very preacher ought to propound to himself; 1. Edification in knowledge and holinesse. 2. Exhortation, that is, Reprehension and Admonition. 3. Consolation, lest that which is lame be turn­ed out of the way, Heb. 12.13.

Verse 4. Edifieth the Church] Therefore prophecy is the more worthy, because profitable. Prodesse meliùs quam prae­esse.

Verse 6. If I come unto you, &c.] This you would not like in me. And is that Venus in Caio, that is, Naevus in Titio? a ble­mish in one, that is a beauty in another.

By revelation or by knowledge, or &c.] Piscator reads it by revelation, or by knowledge, that is, either by prophecying or by doctrine. The Apostle expounding himself.

Verse 7. Except they give a distinction] Ʋnisono nihil au­ribus molestius. Discords in musick make the best harmony.Blunts voiage, pag. 106. Thorow all Turky there runs one tune, nor can every man play that: yet scarce any but hath a fiddle with two strings.

Verse 8. For if the Trumpet] Similies are excellent for illustra­tion, and must be fetcht from things familiar.

Verse 9. Ye shall speak into the air] You shall lose your labour, and may as well keep your breath to cool your broth.

Verse 10. So many kindes of voices] Seventy two maternall languages, they say.

Verse 11. A Barbarian] So the Grecians called all Nations that spoke not their language. It is reported that no where at this day is spoken more barbarous language then at Athens, once the Greece of Greece.Neand. Chron.

Verse 12. To the edifying of the Church] Clouds when full, pour down, and the presses over-flow, and the Aromaticall trees sweat out their precious and soveraign oils, and every learned Scribe must bring out his treasure for the Churches behoof and benefit.

Verse 13. Pray that he may interpret] Pope Innocent the third never praied thus: for he said that the Church decreed the ser­vice in an unknown tongue, Ne sacrosancta verba vilescerent, lest the holy words should be under-prized. But publike praiers in an unknown tongue, saith one, must be attributed to the change of time it self in Italy, France and Spain, for there a long time the Latine was understood of all.Erasm. But when afterwards their speeches degenerated into those vulgar tongues now there used, then the language not of the service, but of the people was altered.

Verse 14. Is unfruitfull] In regard of others edification. It were a great grace, said Lambert the Martyr,Act. and Mon. fol. 1015. if we might have the Word of God diligently and often spoken and sung unto us in such wise, that the people might understand it: then should it come to passe that craftsmen should sing spirituall Psalms sitting at their work, and the husbandman at his plow, as wisheth S. Hie­rome, Pavier Town-clark of London in Henry the eighths time, was a man that in no case could abide to hear that the Gospel should be in English: Insomuch that he once sware a great oath, that if he thought that the Kings highnesse would set forth the Scripture in English, and let it be read of the people by his authority,Ibid 962. rather [Page 114]then he would so long live, he would cut his own throat. But he broke promise; for shortly after he hanged himself.

Verse 15. I will pray with understanding] To an effectuall prai­er there must concur intentio & affectus, the intention of the minde, and the affection of the heart. Else it is not praying but parotting.Sphinx. Philos. I have read of a Parot in Rome, that could distinctly say over the whole Creed.

Verse 16. Say Amen] This the Apostle reckons for a great losse. The poor misled and muzled Papists are enjoined not to joyn so far with a Protestant in any holy action, as to say Amen. But in that,Specul. Europ. there is no so great losse.

Verse 17. But the other is not edified] This we should all la­bour, viz. to edifie others. Synesius speaks of some, who having a treasure of tongues, and other abilities in them, would assoon part with their hearts as their meditations: the canker of whose great skill shall be a witnesse against them.

Verse 18. I thank my God, &c.] Skill in tongues is, as now, a great blessing. Indeed at first when men began [...], to fight against God, they were compelled [...], to brabble in divers languages, seventy two, as Epiphanius affirmeth. But God hath turned this curse into a blessing unto his people, Act. 2. and as in the first plantation of the Gospel, so in the late Reformation, God sent it before, as his munition to batter the forts of Antichrist, who had banished arts and languages, overspreading all with barbarisme and Atheisme. Graecè nosse suspectum erat, Hebraicè ferè haereticum.

Verse 19. In an unknown tongue] A Parisian Doctour tels us that though the Apostle would have Gods service to be celebrated in a known tongue,Benedict. Mo [...] ­tan. in 1 Cor. 14. yet the Church for divers weighty reasons hath otherwise ordered and appointed it. The Mahometans reade their Alchoran (which they supposed were profaned, if it were trans­lated into vulgar tongues) and perform their publique de­votions in the Arabique tongue,Breerw En­quit. 185. which is their learned lan­guage.

Verse 20. Be not children] Mentibus scilicet, sed moribus, Mat. 18.3. See the Note there.

In malice be ye children] In innocency and ignoscency.

In understanding be men] Is it not a shame to have no more understanding at eighty, then at eight years of age?

Verse 21. With men of other tongues] God threatned the [Page 115]Jews, that sith they would not hearken to their own Prophets, they should [...] forrain enemies, Isa. 28.11. Jer. 5.15. So those that will not obey the sweet command of Christ, Come unto me, shall have one day no command to obey but that dreadfull discedi­te, Depart from me, &c.

Verse 22. But for them which believe] To confirm and com­fort believers: This is the chief end of preaching. Let this com­fort those that cannot say they have converted any by their Mi­nistery.

Verse 23. Will they not say, ye are mad!] And may they not say as much if we jangle and dissent in opinion, one holding this,Lib. 2. cap. 2. and another that. Ammianus Marcellinus taxed the anci­ent Bishops of his time for their hatefull miscarriages in this kinde.

Verse 24. He is convinced of all] God smiteth the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips doth he slay the wicked, Isa. 11.4. By his Word he telleth a man (as he did the Samaritesse, Joh. 4.) all that ever he did.

Verse 25. The secrets of his heart] Gods Word is a curious Critick, Heb. 4.12. a discerner of the thoughts, &c. It findes and ferrets out secret sins.

Verse 26. Let all things, &c.] There is edifying even in appoint­ing of fit Psalms.

Verse 27. Or at the most by three] Lest the hearers be tired out. Our infirmity will not suffer any long intention, either of bo­dy or minde. Long services can hardly maintain their vigour, as in tall bodies the spirits are diffused. Erasmus hath observed that Origen never preached above an hour, oft but half an hour: Con­sultiùs judicabat crebrò docere, quam diu, saith he. He held it bet­ter to preach oft, then long.Eras praefat. ad Orig. opera.

Verse 28. Let him keep silence] Such as stuff their Sermons with Greek and Latine are here silenced, further then they inter­pret the same. If thou canst help my hearers to Greek and Latine ears (saith a reverend Preacher) they shall have Greek and La­tine enough.

Verse 29. Let the other judge] But is not this a dispa­ragement to the Prophets? may some say: No, but an honour, 1 Thess. 5.20, 21. After Despise not prophecying, he subjoyneth, Try all things.

Verse 30. That sitteth by] And is extraordinarily inspired and [Page 116]qualified: a little otherwise then our Enthusiasts, that brag of their lumen propheticum.

Verse 31. That all may learn] The most learned may learn something by the discourses of others lesse learned then themselves. Apollos a learned teacher, may yet be taught by a Tent maker. The Jewish Rabbins acknowledge that they came to understand, Isa. 14.23. [...] by hearing an Arabian woman mention a beesome in her lan­guage to her maid.

Verse 32.R. David. in Radic. Are subject to the Prophets] To be scanned and examined; which they should not be, unlesse they took their turns in course to prophecy. Eloquere, said one, ut quid sit videam, Speak that I may see what's in thee.

Verse 33. Not the authour of confusion] Nec author, nec fautor. Unquiet spirits are of the devil, who keeps adoe, and fils the Church with confusion by his turbulent agents and emissaries, sowing sedition and spreading schismes.

Verse 34. Let your women, &c.] See the Note on Rom. 16.1.

Verse 35. Ask their husbands] Who therefore must dwell with them according to knowledge, 1 Pet. 3.7. and be manly guides unto them in the way to heaven. The masters brest must be the housholds treasury.

For it is a shame for women, &c] She was a singular example, that taught the Greek and Latine tongues at Heidelberg, anno 1554. Her name was Olympia Fulvia Morata an Italian, of the City of Ferrara.

Verse 36. What? came the word, &c.] As if he should say (and he saith it with some displeasure) Are ye the first, or the on­ly Christians? Are ye too good to be admonished? Take heed lest God for your arrogancy and high spiritednes lay you low enough, even in that slimy vally, Job 21.31, 32.

Verse 37. The Commandments] And therefore to be obeyed by the best of you. Aut faciendum, aut patiendum: Aut poeniten­dum, aut pereundum. Either do it or die for it.

Verse 38. But if any man be ignorant, &c.] If stubbornly ig­norant and uncounsellable, let him take his own course. I have cleared the truth in things now controverted, and there I rest me. Who so blinde, as he that will not see?

Verse 39. Wherefore, brethren] This he adds as a corollary, to prevent mistakes, as if that he were an enemy either to prophecy, [Page 117]or tongues, so soberly and orderly used. Arbitror nounullos in quibusdam locis librorum meorum, opinaturos me sensisse quod non sensi, aut non sensisse quod sensi, saith Augustine. Aug. lib. 3. de Trin. c 3. I foresee that some will construe many passages of my writings far otherwise then I intended them: and it fell out accordingly,Annal tom 6. ad annum, 450. n. 17. as Baronius te­stifieth.

Verse 40. Let all things, &c.] A generall rule of great moment. In things both reall and rituall decency and order must be observed in Church-meetings. For this the Colossians are much commend­ed, Chap. 2.5. Our Saviour caused the people whom he fed to keep order in their sitting on the grasse: they sat down rank by rank, as rows, or borders of beds in a garden; so the Greek imports. [...]. Hebrais. ut Exod. 8.14. Cartwright. Where­upon an Expositour noteth, Ordinatim res in Ecclesia faciendae. Order must be observed in the Church.

CHAP. XV. Verse 1. And wherein ye stand]

A Military term, as Martyr noteth. [...]. Satan overthroweth the faith of some, 2 Tim. 2.18 and by this very engine where­with he assaulted these Corinthians, ib. So that the Apostle was fain to make Apology, v. 19. to make a barricado.

Verse 2. By which also ye are saved] Eternall life is potential­ly in the word, as the harvest is potentially in the seed, or as the tree is in the kernell or sience, Jam. 1.21.

If ye keep in memory] Helimiteth the promise of salvation to the condition of keeping in memory what they had heard. Tantum didicimus, quantum meminimus, said Socrates. Many have me­mories like nets that let go the fair water, retain the filth only: or like sives that keep the chaff, let go the corn. If God come to search them with a candle, what shall he finde but old songs, old wrongs? &c. not a promise or any sword of God hid there: for things of that nature, they are like Sabinus in Seneca, that never in all his life could remember those three names of Homer, Ʋlisses, and Achilles. But the soul should be as an holy Arke, the memory like the pot of Mannah, preserving holy truths.

Verse 3. First of all] Christ is to be preached with the first, as being the prora & puppis of mans happinesse, Joh. 16.14. It is [Page 118]the office of the holy Ghost to take of Christs excellencies, and hold them out to the world. What then should Ministers, the mouth of the holy Ghost do rather?

Verse 4. According to the Scriptures] Which both fore-shew­ed and fore-shadowed it in Adams waking, Isaac's reviving, as it were from the dead, Josephs abasement and advancement, Sam­sons breaking the bars, and bearing away the gates of Gaza, Da­vids being drawn out of the deep, Daniels out of the den, Ie­remies out of the dungeon, Ionas out of the belly of hell, Mat. 12.39. &c.

Verse 5. Seen of Cephas] Adam died, and we hear no more of him. But Christ shew'd himself after death in six severall appari­tions for our confirmation.

Verse 6. Above five hundred] The number of beleevers then were greater then some would gather out of Act. 1.15. Those 120 may seem to have been Chieftains, such as that any one of them might have been thought meet to succeed Iudas in his Apo­stleship.

Verse 7. Seen of Iames] This is not mentioned in the Gospel, as neither that of Peter, v.5.

Verse 8. One born out of due time] Quasi malo astro abortus, & adversante natura coactus: One that deserved to be rejected, as that forlorn Infant, Ezek. 16.4, 5.

Verse 9. I am the least of the Apostles] Not come to my just bignesse, as one born out of due time, and not without violence.

Not meet to be called] True humility, as true balm, ever sinkes to the bottom of the water, when pride, like oil, ever swims on the top.

Verse 10. I laboured more abundantly] See 2 Cor. 12.23. Rom. 15.19. George Eagles, Martyr in Q. Maries daies, for his great pains in travelling from place to place to confirm the bre­thren, was sirnamed,Act. and Mon. fol. 1823. Trudge over the world. Might not S^t Paul have been fitly so sirnamed?

Not I, but the grace of God] So those good servants, Luke 19.16. Not we, but thy talents have gained other five, and other two, &c. Let God have the entire praise of all our good.

Verse 11. So we preach, and so ye beleeved] A happy com­pliance, when the hearers affections and endeavours doe answer [Page 119]the affections and endeavours of the preacher, as here, and at E­phesus, Act. 20.31-37. When people deliver themselves up to the forme of doctrine,Rom. 6.17. and are cast into the mould of the Word?

Verse 12. No resurrection] More then that of regeneration, Math. 19.28. that estate of the Gospel, called a new heaven, and a new earth, 2 Pet. 3.13. the world to come, Heb. 2.5. that re­surrection already past, [...] Tim. 2.18. that first resurrection, Revel. 20.5.

Verse 13. Then is not Christ risen] But of Christs resur­rection, there were many both living and dead Witnesses, as the earth-quake, empty grave, stone rolled away, cloathes wrapt up, &c.

Verse 14. Then is our preaching vain] Never was there any such imposture put upon the world, as Christianity, if Christ be yet in the grave.

Verse 15. False witnesses of God] For they might safely say with Ieremy, Lord, if we be deceived, thou hast deceived us.

Verse 16. Then is not Christ raised] And so Gods decree is cassated, Act. 13.33. with Psal. 2.7.

Verse 17. Ye are yet in your sins] Rom. 4.25. If he had not been let out of prison, our debt had remained upon us. But God sent his Angel to roul away the stone, as the Judge sends an officer to fetch one out of prison, and to release him. And this is the strength of our Saviours reason, Ioh. 16.10. The Spirit shall convince the world of righteousnesse (that I am Jehovah their righteousnesse) because I go to the Father, which I could not have done, unlesse you were acquitted of all your sins.

Verse 18. A sleep in Christ] The Germanes call the Church­yard Godsaker, because the bodies are sowed therein, to be raised again. The Greeks call them [...], sleeping-houses. The He­brews call the grave Bothchaijm, the house of the living. Iob cals it the Congregation-house of all living, Job 30.23. As the Apo­stle cals heaven the Congregation-house of the first-born, Heb. 12.23.

Verse 19. Most miserable] Because none out of hell ever suf­fered more then the Saints have done.

Verse 20. The first fruits, &c.] As in the first-fruits offered to God, the Jews were assured of Gods blessing on the whole harvest: so by the resurrection of Christ, our resurrection is ensured.

Verse 21. By man came also &c.] Gods justice would be satis­fied in the same nature that had sinned.

Verse 22. Shall all be made alive] The Saints shall be raised, by vertue of the union with Christ to glory: the wicked shall be dragged to his tribunall, by his Almighty power, as a Judge, to be tumbled thence into hell-torment.

Verse 13. At his coming] As in the mean time, their very dust is precious: the dead bodies consumed are not so destroied, but that there is a substance preserved by a secret influence proceeding from Christ as a head. Hence they are said to be dead in Christ, who by rotting refineth them.

Verse 24. Delivered up the Kingdome] Not his essentiall kingdome, as God, but his oeconomicall, as Mediatour.

Verse 25. Till he hath put] And after too, but 1. Without ad­versaries: 2. Without any outward means and ordinances.

Verse 26. That shall be destroied] It is already to the Saints swallowed up in victory, so that they may say to it, as Jacob did to Esau; Surely I have seen thy face as the face of God. This E­sau, death, meets a member of Christ with kisses instead of frowns, and guards him home, as he did Jacob to his fathers house.

Verse 27. All things under his feet] This Psal. 8, 7, 8. spoken of man in generall, is properly applied to the man Christ Jesus: in whom also it extendeth to the Saints, who are therefore more glo­rious then heaven, earth, or any creature, and shall have power over all, Rev. 2.26.

Verse 28. That God may be all in all] Till sin and death be a­bolished, we have no accesse to God, but by Christ. But after that all enemies be trod under foot, then shall we have an immedi­ate union with God: yet so, as that this shall be the proper and everlasting praise of Christ, that he is the procurer of that union.Cameron. de Eccles.

Verse 29. Which are baptized, &c.] The severall senses that are set upon this Text. See in Beza, Piscator, but especially our new Annotations upon the Bible.

Verse 30. [...]. Athenae. In jeopardy every hour] Carrying our lives in our hands, as both the Hebrews and Greeks phrase it.

Verse 31. By our rejoycing] i. e. By our infirmities, afflicti­ons, wherein he so much glorieth, 2 Cor. 11. and 12. as an old souldier doth of his scars. As if the Apostle should say, I appeal [Page 121]to all those miseries that I have suffered amongst you for a te­stimony.

Verse 32. If after the manner, &c.] Paul sought with beasts at Ephesus after the manner of men, that is, say some, the men of Ephesus fought with him after the manner of beasts. Others more probably understand it literally: If after the manner of men,Beza. Sclatter. that is, as men use to do to shew their valour (he meaneth those B [...]stia [...]ij among the Romans) I have been cast to the beasts,Chrisostom. Ambros. and have either overcome them, as Lysimachus did the lion, or have been spared by them, as corpora sanctorum Martyrum tangere multoties refugiebant bestiae, saith the Historian, what advanta­geth it me, &c. And this later sense is a stronger argument of the resurrection.

Let us eat and drink] An ill inference of men of corrupt mindes, and destitute of the truth. Chrysostome saith, There were a sort of such in his time, as said [...]. [...] An [...]on. Give me to day, and take thou tomorrow. And have not we those that say, Let us be merry while we may: we shall never be younger, Ede, bibe, lude, post mortem nulla v [...]luptas. It was wisely done of the Romans to banish Alaecus and Philiscus, a cou­ple of swinish Epicures, lest they should by their evil communica­tion and conversation corrupt others.Aelian. l. 9.

Verse 33. Evil communication] Evil words are not winde, as most imagine, but the devils drivell, that leaves a foul stain upon the speaker, and oft sets the like upon the hearer. Shun obscene borborology (saith one) and unsavoury speeches: thou losest so much of thine honesty and piety, as thou admittest evil into thy tongue.

Verse 34. Awake to righteousnesse] Go forth and shake your selves (as Samson did) out of that dead lethargy whereinto sin hath cast you: your enemies are upon you, and you fast asleep the while.

I speak this to your shame] Ignorance is a blushfull sin. Are ye also ignorant? said Christ to his Apostles: q. d. that's an ar­rant shame indeed. The Scripture sets such below the Oxe and the Asse.

Verse 35. But some man will say] Some Epicure will object, and say, How can these things be? A privatione ad habitum non datur regressus. See the Note on Act. 17.18.

Verse 36. Thou fool] A hard knot must have a hard wedge, [Page 122]a dead heart, a rousing reproof. He confutes Atheists from the course of nature which they ascribe so much unto.

Verse 37. And that which thou sowest] This is an answer to the Epicures second demand, vers. 35. with what body do they come? with a dead, diseased, rotten body, &c? No, no, saith the Apostle. Sin only is rotted with it's concomitancies, infirmities: but the rotting of the body is but as the rotting of corn under the clod, that it may arise incorruptible. Or as the melting of an old piece of plate in the fire, to bring it out, of a better fa­shion.

Verse 38. But God giveth it a body] Deus naturae vires & vices ita moderatur, &c. saith one. God so orders all, that no­thing is done without him. [...] The same Hebrew word that signifi­eth an ear of corn, doth also signifie a word; because every field of corn, is a book of Gods praise, every land a leaf, every leaf a verse, every ear a word, every corn of wheat a letter to expresse the power and goodnes of God.

Verse 39. All flesh is not the same] This is another answer to the Epicure, who might haply reply, and say, If mans flesh, when rotted, shall revive, why not likewise the flesh of other creatures? The Apostle answereth, All flesh is not the same, &c. Mans flesh only is informed by a reasonable and immortall soul, not so the flesh of other creatures: And hence the difference.

Verse 40. There are also coelestiall] Stars and spirits (the in­habitants of that other heaven) I finde (saith a Divine) like one another. Meteors and fowls in as many varieties as there are severall creatures. Why? Is it because man, for whose sake they were made, delights in variety, God in constancy? Or is it because that in these God may shew his own skill, and their im­perfection?

The glory of the terrestriall] The glory of our terrestriall bo­dies, shall at the resurrection be celestiall; they shall be more like spirits then bodies: so clear and transparent, saith Aquinas, that all the veins, humours, nerves and bowels shall be seen, as in a glasse: they shall be conformed to the glorified body of Christ, as to the standard.

Verse 41. One star differeth, &c.] The morning-star is said to cast a shadow with it's shine. Canst thou binde the sweet influ­ences of the seven starres? Job 38.31. Whose work is to bring the Spring, and which like seven sisters or lovers (as the word signifies) are [Page 123]joyned together in one fair constellation. Or lose the bands of Orion? The star that brings winter, and bindes the earth with frost and cold. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth, the Southern constellations? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sonnes, that is, the Northern stars, those store-houses of Gods good trea­sure, which he openeth to our profit? Deut. 28.12.

Verse 42. So also is the resurrection] Whether there are de­grees of glory, as it seems probable, so we shall certainly know, when we come to heaven. Three glimpses of the bodies glory were seen, in Moses his face, in Christs transfiguration, and in Stephens countenance.

Verse 43. It is raised in power] The resurrection will cure all infirmities. At Stratford-bow were burned in Queen Maries daies, at one stake, a lame man and a blinde man. The lame man after he was chained, casting away his crutch, bad the blinde man be of good comfort; for death would heal them both.Act. and Mon. fol. 1733. And so they patiently suffered.

Verse 44. A spirituall body] Luther saith the body shall move up and down like a thought. Augustin saith, they shall move to any place they will, assoon as they will. As birds (saith Zanchius) being hatched, do flie lightly up into the skies,De operib. Dei. which being eggs, were a heavy and slimy matter: So man being hatch­ed by the resurrection, is made pure and nimble, and able to mount up into the heavens.

Verse 45. A quickning spirit] Christ is called a spirit from his Deity, as Heb. 9.14. and a quickning spirit, because he is the principle of life to all believers.

Verse 46. And afterward, that is spirituall] Nature, Art, Grace, proceed from lesse perfect to more perfect. Let us ad­vance forward, and ripen apace, that we may be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, Luk. 20.35.

Verse 47. Of the earth, earthy] Gr. Dusty, slimy, ex terra friabili. Let this pull down proud flesh.

The Lord from heaven] Not for the matter of his body; for he was made of a woman; but for the originall and dignity of his person; whereof see a lively and lofty description, Heb. 1.2, 3.

Verse 48. They that are earthy] [...], Vulgus fictilis. Man is but an earthen pot., Isa. 64.8.

Verse 49. The image of the heavenly] See Phil. 3.21. Our bodies shall be fashioned like to Christs glorious body in beauty, brightnesse, incorruption, immortality, grace, favour agi­lity, strength, and other unspeakable qualities and excellen­cies. Whether they shall have that power as to tosse the grea­test mountains like a ball, yea to shake the whole earth at the [...]r pleasure, as Anselme and Luther thinke, I have not to say.

Verse 50. Flesh and bloud] The body as it is corruptible, can­not enter heaven, but must be changed: we shall appear with him in glory. The vile body of Moses, that was hid in the valley of Moab, was brought forth glorious in the hill of Tabor, Math. 17.

Verse 51. I shew you a mystery] Not known till now to any man living. [...]. This, likely, was one of those wordlesse words that Paul heard in his rapture, 2 Cor. 12.4

Verse 52. The trumpet shall sound] As at the giving of the law it did, Exod 19 16. If the law were thus given (saith a Di­vine) how shall it be required? If such were the proclamation of Gods statutes, what shall the sessions be? I see and trem­ble at the resemblance: The trumpet of the Angel called to the one; the trumpet of the Arch-angel shall summon us to the other. In the one, the Mount only was on a flame, all the world shall be so in the other. To the one Moses saies, God came with ten thousands of his Saints: In the other thousand thou­sands shall minister to him, and ten thousand thousands shall stand before him.

Verse 53. For this corruptible] Pointing to his body, he that speaketh, as Psal. 34 6. This poor man cried, the Lord heard him. So the old believers, when they rehearsed the Creed, and came to that Article, I believe the Resurrection of the flesh, they were wont to adde, Etiam hu [...]s carnts, even of this self-same flesh. So Job 19.27.

Verse 55. Death is swallowed up] As the fuell is swallowed up by the fire: as the Sorcerers serpents were swallowed up by Moses his serpent.

Verse 56. Death, where's thy sting?] This is the sharpest and the shrillest note, the boldest and the bravest challenge that ever man rang in the ears of death. Sarcasmo constat & hostili derisione, quâ mors ridenda propinatur, saith one. [Page 125]Death is here out-braved, called craven to his face, and bid­den, Do his worst. So Simeon sings out his soul;Tollitur mors, non ne sit, sed ne obsit. Aug. Hilarion chides it out. Ambrose is bold to say, I am neither asha­med to live, nor afraid to die. Anne Askew the Martyr,Act. and Mon. fol. 1131. thus subscribeth her own confession: Written by me Anne Askew that neither wisheth for death, nor feareth his might; and as merry as one that is bound towards heaven.Ibid. M^r Bradford being told he should be burned the next day, put off his cap, and lifting up his eyes, praised God for it.

Verse 56. The sting of death is sinne] Christ having unstinged death, and as it were disarmed it, we may safely now put it into our bosoms, as we may a snake, whose sting is pull'd out. If it shoot forth now a sting at us, it is but an enchanted sting, as was that of the Sorcerers serpents. Buzze it may about our ears, as a drone Bee; but sting us it cannot. Christ as he hath taken away not sinne it self, but the guilt of sinne, so not death it self but the sting of death.

Verse 57. But thanks be to God, &c.] Here S. Paul, Christs chief Herauld, proclaims his victory with a world of solemnity and triumph.

Verse 58. Alwaies abounding, &c.] This will strengthen faith: as the oft knocking upon a stake fastens it. When faith bears fruit upward, it will take root downward.

CHAP. XVI. Verse 1. Collection for the Saints]

THe poor believers at Jerusalem, Rom. 15.26. who had suf­fered hard things of their own Countrey-men, 1 Thess. 2.14. and taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods, Heb. 10.34.Gal. 2.10. Non [...], sed [...] & [...]. and were therefore relieved by the Churches of the Gentiles at Pauls motion. The word here used for Saints, signifieth such as are ta­ken off from the earth. The Saints, though their commoration be upon earth, their conversation's in heaven.

Verse 2. Ʋpon the first day] The Christian Sabbath, the Lords-day, as the Greek Scholiast well renders it: which to sanctifie was in the Primitive times a badge of Christianity. When the question was propounded, Servasti dominicum? Hast thou kept the Lords-day? The answer was returned, Christianus sum; in­termittere [Page 126]non possum, I am a Christian, I can do no lesse then keep the Lords-day.D King on Jonas, Lect. 7. But the world is now grown perfectly pro­fane (saith one) and can play on the Lords-day without book. The Sabbath of the Lord, the sanctified day of his rest is shamelesly troubled and disquieted.

Lay by him in store] Gr. As a treasure, 1 Tim. 6.18. Manus pauperum gazophylacium Christi. The poor mans box is Christs treasury.

As God hath prospered him] Gr. [...]. Given him a good arrivall at the end of his voiage, and enabled him: for we may not stretch be­yond the staple, and so spoil all.

Verse 3. Your liberality] Gr. Your grace: That which ha­ving received of Gods free grace, you do as freely part with to his poor people.

Verse 4. That I goe also] And goe he did, Rom. 15.25. Act. 24 17. The very Angels hold not themselves too good to serve the Saints.

Verse 5. When I shall come, &c.] He was not then yet come into Macedonia, neither was this Epistle written at Philippi (as the subscription saith) a chiefe City of Mace­donia.

Verse 6.2 Cor. 1 [...].15. Yea, and winter with you] They had ill deserved such a favour of him: for the more he loved them, the lesse he was beloved of them: But he sought not theirs, but them. Discourte­sies must not discourage us from Gods work. Calvin, though but c [...]u [...]lly, used at his first coming to Geneva, brake thorow all.

Verse 7. If the Lord permit] The Lord ordereth a good mans goings, Psal. 37. See Act. 16. with Jam. 4.13. It was rather rash­nesse then valour in our Richard 1. who being told (as he sat at Supper) that the French King had besieged his town of Vernoil in Normandy, protested that he would not turn his back, untill he had confronted the French. And thereupon he caused the wall of his palace that was before him to be broken down toward the South, and posted to the Sea-coast immediately into Nor­mandy.

Verse 8. But I will tarry at Ephesus] From thence then he wrote this Epistle, and not at Philippi, as the subscription hath it. See vers. 5.

Verse 9. [...]. And effectuall] Or, Busie, that requires great pains-taking. The Ministery is not an idle mans occupation, as some fools think it.

And many adversaries] Truth never wants an opposite. In the beginning of the late Reformation, Eckius, Roffensis, Caje­tun, More, Faber, Cochlaus, Cutharinus, Pighius, all these wrote against Luther, Summo conatu, acerrimo desiderio, non vulgari doctrina, as one saith, with utmost desire and endea­vour.

Verse 10. For he worketh, &c.] So doth every faithfull Mi­nister, though of meaner parts. The Vine is the weakest of trees, but full of fruit. A little hand may thred a needle. A little boat may do best in a low river. Philadelphia had but a little strength, Revel. 3.8. and yet it served turn, and did the deed.

Verse 11. [...]. Niceph. Let no man despise him] For his youth: for he hath lived much in a little time (as it is said of our Edw. 6.) and is an old young man, as was Macarius the Egyptian.

Verse 12. I greatly desired him] Paul did not compell or com­mand him, as the Pope takes upon him to do, even to Princes and Potentates. Oh that all Kings would answer him in this case, as Philip the Fair of France did Pope Boniface, claiming a power there to bestow Prebends and Benefices. Sciat tua maxi­ma fatuitas. &c.Alsted. Chronol.

Verse 13. Watch ye, &c.] Solomons wisdome, Lots integri­ty, and Noahs sobriety felt the smart of the serpents sting. The first was seduced, the second stumbled, the third fell, whiles the eye of watchfulnes was fallen asleep.

Verse 14. Let all your things, &c.] Love is the Saints livery, Joh. 13.35, Heathens acknowledged that no people in the world did love one another, so as Christians did. In the Primitive times, Animo anima (que); inter se miscebantur, as Tertullian speaketh. But now, alas, it is far otherwise; Love began to grow cold among these Corinthians. Hence this sweet and savoury counsel.

Verse 15. To the ministery of the Saints] To serve them in col­lecting and distributing alms to the necessitous.

Verse 16. That ye submit] Giving them due honour, doing them all good offices.

Verse 17. They have supplied] viz. Your absence: for in them I take a short view of you all.

Verse 18. They have refreshed] Ipse aspectus viri boni dele­ctat. It's some comfort to see a good mans face.Sen.

Verse 19. Aquila and Priscilla] Pauls fast friends and con­stant companions; worth their weight in gold.

Verse 20. With an holy kisse] Not hollow, as Joab and Judas; nor carnall as that harlot, Prov. 7.13. See Rom. 16.16.

Verse 21. With mine own hand] Well known to the Corinthi­ans, to prevent imposture.

Verse 22. If any man love not] That is, desperately hate. A sin so execrable, that the Apostle would not once name it. So the Jews would not name leven of the Passeover, nor a sow at any time, but called it dabar achar, E [...]as Th [...]bit. another thing.

Anathema Maranatha] Accurst upon accurst, put over to God to punish.

Verse 23. My love, &c.] Though I have sharply rebuked you, &c. Tit. 1.13.

CHAP. I. Verse 1. Our brother]

IN the faith, not in the flesh, Sanctior est copula cordis, quam corporis, Prov. 18.24.

Verse 2. From God the Father] The Father is the Fountain, the Son the conduit, whereby all good things are derived to us.

Verse 3. The Father of mercies] Only it must be remembred, that as he is Pater miserationum, so he is Deus ultionum, Psal 94.1. As he hath ubera, so he hath verbera. Christ is girt about the paps with a golden girdle, to shew his love; but yet he hath eyes like flaming fire, and feet like burning brasse, Rev. 1. to look thorow and keep under his enemies.

The God of all comfort] It is he that shines thorow the crea­ture, which else is but as the air without light. It is he that com­forteth by the means. It is not the Word alone; for that is but as the veins and arteries that convey the bloud and spirits: So the Spi­rit [Page 130]being convey'd by the promises, helpeth the soul to lay it self up­on Christ by faith, and so it is comforted. Sometimes comfort comes not by the use of the means till afterwards, that he may have the whole glory, Cant. 3. The Church found not him, whom her soul loved, till she was a little past the watchmen. The soul is apt to hang her comforts on every hedge, to shift and shark in eve­ry by-corner for comfort. But as air lights not without the Sun, and as fuell heats not without fire, so neither can any thing soundly comfort us without God.

Verse 4. By the comfort wherewith] How forcible are right words? especially when uttered more from the bowels then the brain, and from our own experience: which made even Christ himself a more compassionate high-priest, and Luther such an heart-affecting preacher, because from his tender years he was much beaten and exercised with spirituall conflicts, as Melan­cthon testifieth.In vita. He was also wont to say that three things make a Preacher, Reading, Praier, and Temptation. Reading maketh a full man, Praier an holy man, Temptation an experienced man.

Wherewith we our selves are comforted] Goodnesse is com­municative. M^r Knox, a little afore his death, role out of his bed; and being asked wherefore, being so sick, he would offer to rise? He answered, that he had had sweet meditations of the re­surrection of Jesus Christ that night, and now he would go into the Pulpit,Mel [...]b Adam. and impart to others the comforts that he felt in his soul.

Verse 5. As the sufferings of Christ] So called either because the Saints suffer for Christ, or because they have him suffering with them, Act. 9.4. God is more provoked then Nehemiah, Nehem. 4.3, 5.

So our consolation] As the lower the ebbe, the higher the tide. [...], saith Ignatius. The more pain, the more gain. It is to my losse, if you bate me any thing in my suf­ferings.

Verse 6. And whether we be afflicted] Let the winde sit in what corner soever it will, it blows good to the Saints, Cant. [...].16. Though North and South be of contrary qualities, yet they make the Churches spices to flow and give forth their sent.

Verse 7. So shall ye be also, &c.] Our troubles therefore are compared to the throws of a travelling woman that tend to a birth, and end in comfort Joh. 16.21.

Verse 8. For we would not, &c.] It is of great use to know the sufferings that others have sustained before us. The Primitive Christians kept Catalogues of their Martyrs. D^r Tailor the Mar­tyr at his death gave his son Thomas a latine book, containing the sayings and sufferings of the old Martyrs, collected by himself. In the English Seminaries beyond seas, they have at dinner time their Martyrology read, that is, the legend of our English Traitours.

We despaired even of life] God is oft better to us then our hopes: he reserves usually his holy hand for a dead lift. He comes in the nick of time: and our extremity is his opportunity. See the Note on Luk. 18.8.

Verse 9. But we had the sentence] Gr. [...]. The answer or denun­ciation of death. Here we must distinguish between answers of triall, and direct answers. This was of the former sort: for Paul died not at that time. When Leyden was so long, and so strictly besieged by the Duke of Alva, that they were forced for their su­stenance to search and scrape dung-hils, &c. and the Duke, in the language of blasphemy, threatned the defendants with cruell death, that very night the windes turned, the tide swelled, and the waters came in, and forced him to raise the siege.

That we should not trust] Hope is never higher-elevated then when our state in all mens eyes is at lowest.

Verse 10. In whom we trust] Experience breeds confidence. Thou hast, thou shalt, is an ordinary medium made use of by the Psalmist.

Verse 11. You also helping together] The best may have benefit by the praiers of the meanest. Melancthon was much cheared and confirmed by the praiers of certain women and chil­dren, whom he found tugging with God in a corner for the setling of the Reformation in Germany. S [...]lneccer. paeda­gog. Christian. pag. 196.

Verse 12. For this is our rejoycing, &c.] He was merry under his load, because his heart was upright. The sincere will well stand under great pressures, because they are sound. Whereas if a bone be broke, or but the skin rub'd up and raw, the lightest load will be grievous.

And godly sincerity] A fine word he here useth: [...]. and it is a [Page 132]Metaphor either from the Eagle that trieth her young by holding them forth against the full sight of the Sun;Aristot. Plin. (so should we the mo­tions of our mindes to the Word of God) or else from a wise and wary chapman, that holds up the cloth he buyes, betwixt his eye and the Sun.

Verse 13. Then what ye read, &c.] Or, then what you can both recognize and approve of: for you have known me thorow and thorow.

Verse 14. You have acknowledged in part] q. d. You ought to have done it more fully: but you have been carried away, as ye were led by the false Apostles.

Verse 15. A second benefit] Gr. Grace not converting only, but confirming also. All is but enough.

Verse 16. And to passe by you] So indefatigable and unsa­tisfiable was he in doing God service. Calvin said, Ne decem quidem maria, &c. That it would not grieve him to sail over ten seas, about a uniform draught for religion.

Verse 17. Did I use lightnesse] So the false Apostles suggested against him. Ministers must carefully clear themselves of suspi­tions and aspersions cast upon them, either by a verball or reall Apology.

Verse 18. Our word toward you, &c.] Gods children are all such as will not lie, say and unsay, blow hot and cold with a blast, Isa. 63.8.

Verse 19. For the Sonne of God] What is that to the purpose? Thus: if the Gospel that Paul preached be not yea and nay, then neither are Pauls promises yea and nay. This is his intendment: else his inference is nothing. And by that which follows, it reach­eth all Christians,M. Cotton on the seven vi [...]als 25. q. d. Look what a Christian doth promise, he is bound by the earnest-peny of Gods Spirit to perform. He dares no more alter his words to the discredit of his profession, then the Spi­rit of God can lie.

Verse 20. In him are yea and amen] That is, truth and assu­rance. They will eat their way over all alpes of opposition, as one speaketh.

Verse 21. Hath anointed us] i. e. Consecrated and quali­fied us.

Verse 22. Sealed us] As the Merchant sets his seal upon his goods.

The earnest of the Spirit] Whereof God should under­goe [Page 133]the losse, if he should not give the inheritance, as Chryso­stome noteth.

Verse 23. I call God to record] He purgeth himself by oath. So those Iosh. 22.22.

Verse 24. Dominion over your faith] As Masters of your consciences: such as the Bridge-maker of Rome will needs be.Pontisex Roma­nus.

CHAP. II. Verse 1. That I would not come again]

ILle dolet, quoties cogitur esse ferox. It goes as much against the heart of a good Minister, as against the hair with his people, if he say or do any thing to their grief. It is no pleasure to him to fling daggers, to speak milstones, to preach damnation, &c. But there is a cruell lenity, as was that of Eli to his sons, and evil men must be sharply rebuked, that they may be sound in the faith, Tit. 1.13.

Verse 2. But the same which is made, &c.] Nothing can cure a faithfull Minister of his cordolium, of his hearts grief, but his peoples amendment. Now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord, 1 Thess. 3.8. else we are all amort, and you kill the very hearts of us.

Verse 3. Of whom I ought to rejoyce] Nothing sticks a man more then the unkindenesse of a friend, then expectation of love dashed and disappointed: All evils, as elements are most trouble­some, when out of their proper place, as impiety in professours, injustice in Judges, unkindenes or untowardnes in a people toward their Pastour, &c.

Verse 4. With many tears] Non tàm atramento quam lachry­mis chartas illevit, saith Lorinus. In Act. 22.19. S. Pauls epistles were written rather with tears then with ink.

Verse 5. Have caused grief] Wicked livers are Hazaels to the godly, and draw many sighes and tears from them. Lots righte­ous soul was set upon the rack by the filthy Sodomites. Ieremy weeps in secret for Iudah's sins. Paul cannot speak of those belly-gods with dry eyes, Phil. 3.18.

Verse 16. Sufficient to such a man] The Novatians therefore were out, that refused to receive in those that repented of their former faults and follies. The Papists burnt some that recanted at [Page 134]the stake, saying that they would send them out of the world, while they were in a good minde.Act. and Mon. fol. 1392.

Verse 7. Should be swallowed up] It was a saying of M^r Phil­pot, Martyr: Satan goes about to mix the detestable darnell of desperation with the godly sorrow of a pure penitent heart.Ibid. 1665.

With overmuch grief] Some holy men (as M^r Leaver) have desired to see their sin in the most ugly colours, and God hath heard them.D. Sibbs on Ps. 42.5. But yet his hand was so heavy upon them therein, that they went alwaies mourning to their graves; and thought it fitter to leave it to Gods wisdome to mingle the potion of sorrow, then to be their own choosers. It is a saying of Austin, Let a man grieve for his sin, and then joy for his grief. Sorrow for sin, if it so far exceed as that thereby we are disabled for the discharge of our duties, it is a sinfull sorrow, yea though it be for sinne.

Verse 8. [...]. Confirm your love, &c.] Gr. Ratifie it, and declare it authentike, as it were in open court, and by publike sentence (as Gal. 3.15.) and that at mine instance, [...]. as an advocate.

Verse 9. Whether ye be obedient] First to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God, 2 Cor. 8.5. Confer Heb. 13.17. Isa. 50.10.

Verse 10. To whom ye forgive] Or, Gratifie. Mercy is that we must mutually lend and borrow one of another. Let the rigid read Gal 6.1. See the Note there.

Verse 11. [...] Lest Satan] That wily merchant, that greedy bloud-sucker, that devoureth not widdows houses, but most mens souls. See ver. 7.

For we are not ignorant] He is but a titular Christian that hath not personall experience of Satans stratagems, his set and composed machinations, [...]. his artificially-moulded methods, his plots, darts, depths, whereby he outwitted our first parents, and fits us a peny-worth still, as he sees reason.

Verse 12. A door was opened] An opportunity offered. Where the Master sets up a light, there is some work to be done; where he sends forth his labourers, there is some harvest to be got­ten in.

Verse 13. [...]. I had no rest, &c.] Gr. No relaxation, viz. from my former cares and anxieties about you, because he was not yet returned to tell me how it was with you, 2 Cor. 7.6. Gods com­forts [Page 135]are either rationall, fetcht from grounds which faith mini­streth, or reall from the presence of comfortable persons or things.

Verse 14. Now thanks be to God] Deo gratias was ever in Pauls mouth, ever in Austins. And a thankfull man is ever ready with his present, as Joseph's brethren were, Genesis 43.26.

Causeth us to triumph] Maketh us more then conquerours, even triumphers; whiles he rides upon us as upon his white horses all the world over, Conquering and to conquer, Rev. 6.2.

Verse 15. A sweet savour] The Church is the morter, preach­ing the pestell, the promises are the sweet spices, which being beat­en,Bis. on 1 Pet. 2. yeeld an heavenly and supernaturall smell in the souls of the godly hearers.

Verse 16. The savour of death] Aristotle writeth,De mirabil. au­s [...]ultat. that vul­tures are killed with oil of roses. Swine (saith Pliny) cannot live in some parts of Arabia, by reason of the sweet sent of aro­maticall trees there growing in every wood. Tigers are enraged with perfumes. Vipera interficitur palmis, saith Pa [...]sanias, Mo­ses killed the Aegyptian, saved the Israelite. Obed-Edom was blessed for the Ark, the Philistims were cursed. The Sun of the Gospel shining upon one that is ordained to eternall life, reviveth and quickneth him: but lighting upon a childe of death, it causeth him to stink more abominably.

And who is sufficient] And yet now who is it almost that thinks not himself sufficient for that sacred and tremend function of the Ministery? Who am I? saith Moses: Who am I not? saith our upstart. Bradford was hardly perswaded to become a Preach­er.Act. and Mon. fol. 1578. Latimer leapt when he laid down his Bishoprick, being dis­charged, as he said, of such an heavy burthen. Luther was wont to say, That if he were again to chuse his calling, he would dig, or do any thing rather then take upon him the office of a Minister. So said reverend M^r Whately of Banbury once in my hearing.

Verse 17. Which corrupt the word] Gr. Which huckster it, [...]. by handling it craftily and covetously, not serving the Lord Jesus Christ but their own bellies, as those Popish trencher-flies, and our Court parasites.

In the sight of God] It is impossible to speak as in Gods pre­sence, and not sincerely.

CHAP. III. Verse 1. Doe we begin again, &c.]

AS we had done before, cap. 1.12.Plin. l. 1. epist. 8

To commend our selves] Quod magnificum referente alio fuisset, ipso qui gesserat recensente vanescit. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth, Prov. 27.2. Laus proprio sordescit in ore. But the Apostle was necessitated to it.

As some others, letters of commendation] As the false Apo­stles, who carried it by testimonials: in giving whereof many good people are much too blame. Beauty needs no letters of commen­dation, saith Aristotle: much lesse doth vertue, where it is known. If morall vertue could be seen with mortall eyes, saith Plato, it would soon draw all hearts to it self.

Verse 2. You are our Epistle] The fruitfulnesse of the people is the Preachers testimoniall: as the profiting of the schollar is the teachers commendation.

Written in our hearts] Or rather in your hearts, as tables; the Spirit writing thereon, by his Ministers as pens, that form of doctrine, Rom. 6.17. that law of their mindes, Rom. 7.23. Heb. 8.10. to be known and read of all men.

Verse 3. Ministred by us] Who are devoted to the service of your faith, and are the Lord Christs Sectaries.

But in fleshly tables] In the softened heart God writes his law, puts an inward aptnesse answering the Law of God without, as lead answers the mould, as tally answers tally, as indenture an­swers indenture.

Verse 4 Such trust have we] i. e. Such boldnesse of holy boasting, If Tully could say, Two things I have to bear me bold upon,Cic. ep sam [...] 7. the knowledge of good arts, and the glory of great acts; how much more might Paul?

Verse 5. Not that we are sufficient] Lest they should think him arrogant. Cyrus had this written upon his Tombe, I could doe all things, [...]. as Arrianus reports. So could Paul too; but it was thorow Christ which strengthned him. Phil. 4.1 [...].

All our sufficiency is of God] Had not Ministers then need to pray? Benè orasse est benè studnisse, saith Luther. And whether a Minister shall do more good to others by his praiers or preaching, [Page 137]I will not determine (saith a reverend Writer) but he shall certain­ly by his praiers reap more comfort to himself. Whereto I adde,D. Tailour on 1 Thess 5.23. that unlesse he pray for his hearers as well as preach to them, he may preach to as little purpose as Bede did, when he preached to an heap of stones.

Verse 6. Not of the letter] To wit, of the law, which re­quireth perfect obedience, presupposing holinesse in us,Lex jubet gra­t [...]a juvat. Aug. and cur­sing the disobedient: But the Gospel (called here the Spirit) pre-supposeth unholinesse, and, as an instrument, maketh us holy, Ioh. 17.17. Act. [...]0.32. For we preach Christ, 1 Cor. 1.23. We give what we preach. The Spirit is received by the preaching of faith, Gal 3.2. This Mannah is rained down in the sweet dews of the Ministery of the Gospel, 1 Pet. 1.22.

For the letter killeth] Many Popish Priests, that hardly ever had seen, much lesse read S^t Pauls writings, having gotten this sentence by the end, The letter killeth; took care of being killed, by not medling with good literature. Hence that of S^r Thomas Moore to one of them,

Verse 7. The ministration of death] That is, the Law. Da­vid was the voice of the Law awarding death to sin, He shall sure­ly die. Nathan was the voice of the Gospel, awarding life to re­pentance for sin, Thou shalt not die.

For the glory of his countenance] Which yet reflected not up­on his own eyes. He shone bright and knew not of it: He saw Gods face glorious, he did not think others had so seen his. How many have excellent graces, and perceive them not?

Verse 8. Be rather glorious] Let this comfort the Ministers of the Gospel under the contempts cast upon them by the mad world ever besides it self in point of salvation. See Isa. 49.5.

Verse 9. Exceedin glory] A throne was set in heaven, Rev. 4.2. Not in the Mount, as Exod. 25 9. The patern of our Church is shewed in the heavens themselves, because of that more abun­dant glory of the Gospel above the Law. And therefore also Iohn describeth the City far greater and larger then Ezekiel, Revel. 21. Because Ezekiel was a Minister of the Law,Brightman in loc. Iohn of the Gospel.

Verse 10. Had no glory] To speak of, and in comparison. The [Page 138]light of the Law was obscured and overcast by the light of the Go­spel. The sea about the altar was brazen, 1 King, 7.23. and what eyes could pierce thorow it? Now our sea about the throne is glassie, Rev. 4.6. like to crystall clearly conveying the light and sight of God in Christ to our eyes.

Verse 11. Much more that, &c.] As the Sun outshineth Luci­fer his herald.

Verse 12. Plainnesse of speech] Or, much evidence, as Ioh. 10.24. and 11.14. and 16.29. with much perspicuity and authority we deliver our selves: we speak with open face, not fear­ing colours.

Verse 13. Could not stedfastly, &c.] Could not clearly see Christ the end of the Law, Rom. 10.4. Gal. 3.24.

Verse 14. But their mindes] Unlesse God give sight as well as light, and enlighten both organ and object, we can see nothing.

Which vail is done away] See Isa. 25.7. Faith freeth from blindenesse: we no sooner tast of that stately feast by faith, but the vail of ignorance, which naturally covereth all flesh, is torne and rent.

Verse 15. The vail is upon their hearts] By a malicious and voluntary hardning; they curse Christ and his worshippers in their daily devotions, and call Evangelium Avengillaion, the Gospel, a volume of vanity or iniquity.Eliab in Th [...]b.

Verse 16. When it shall turn] Of the Jews conversion, and what hinders it. See the Note on Rom. 11.7, 8, 25.

Verse 17. The Lord is that spirit] Christ only can give the Jews that noble spirit, as David calleth him, Psal. 50.12. that freeth a man from the invisible chains of the kingdome of darknesse.

Verse 18. Are changed] As the pearl, by the often beating of the Sun-beams upon it, becomes radiant.

From glory to glory] That is, From grace to grace. Fulnesse of grace is the best thing in glory. Other things, as peace and joy, are but the shinings forth of this fulnesse of grace in glory.

CHAP. IIII. Verse 1. As we have received mercy]

SIth we have so freely been called to the Ministery of meer mercy, we shew forth therein all sedulity and sincerity. When I was born, said that French King, thousand others were born besides my self. Now what have I done to God more then they, that I should be a King, and not they? Tamerlane having overcome Ba­jazet, asked him whether ever he had given God thanks for ma­king him so great an Emperour: who confessed ingenuously he ne­ver thought of it. To whom Tamerlane replied, that it was no wonder so ungratefull a man should be made a spectacle of misery. For you, saith he, being blinde of one eye, and I lame of a leg,Leunelau. An­nal, Tu [...]. was there any worth in us, why God should set us over two such great Empires of Turks and Tartars? So may Ministers say, What are we that God should call us to so high an office, &c.?

We faint not] We droope not, we flag not, [...]. we hang not the wing, though hardly handled. For, Pradicare nihil alind est, quam derivare in se furorem totius mundi, as Luther said.

Verse 2. The hidden things of dishonesty] All legerdemain, and under-hand dealing. They that do evil hate the light, love to lurk. But sin hath woaded an impudency in some mens faces, that they dare do any thing.

To every mans conscience] A pure conscience hath a witnes in every mans bosome. See 1 Cor. 14.24.

Verse 3. To them that are lost] It is a sign of a reprobate-goat, Joh. 8 43, 47. Sensuall, baving not the spirit, Jude 19. The devil hides his black hand before their eyes.

Verse 4. The god of this world] The devil usurps such a power, and wicked men will have it so. They set him up for God: If he do but hold up his finger, give the least hint, they are at his obedi­ence, as God at first did but speak the word, and it was done. All their buildings, plowings, plantings, sailings are for the devil. And if we could rip up their hearts, we should finde written therein, The god of this present world.

Verse 5. We preach not our selves] We are Christs paranym­phes, or spokesmen, and must wooe for him. Now if we should [Page 140]speak one word for him, and two for our selves, as all self-seekers do, how can we answer it?

Verse 6. Hath shined] The first work of the spirit in mans heart is, to beat out new windows there, and to let in light, Act. 26, 18. And then, Semper in sole sita est Rhodos, qui & calorem & co­lorem nobis impertit. Aeneas Sylv.

Verse 7. [...]. In earthen vessels] Gr. In oyster-shels: as the ill-fa­voured oyster hath In it a bright pearl. Vilis saepe cadus nobile ne­ctar habet. In a leathern purse may be a precious pearl.

Verse 8. We are troubled on every side] This is the worlds wages to Gods Ministers. Veritas odium parit. Opposition is Evangely genius, said Calvin. Tru [...]h goes ever with a scratcht face.

We are perplexed] Pray for me, I say, Pray for me, said Latimer. Act. and Mon. fol 1565. For I am sometimes so fearfull, that I could creep in­to a Mouse-hole, sometimes God doth visit me again with com­fort, &c.

Verse 9. Persecuted but not for saken] The Church may be shaken,Concuti, non excuti, Duris ut ilex [...]onsa bipenni­bus. not shivered, persecuted, not conquered. Roma cladi­bus animosior, said one. 'Tis more true of the Church: She gets by her losses, and as the Oak she taketh heart to grace from the maims and wounds given her,

As the Pope wrote once to the great Turk,

Cast down, but not destroied] Impellere possunt (said Lu­ther of his enemies) sed totum prosternere non possunt: crudeli­ter me tractare possunt, sed non extirpare: dentes nudare, sed non devorare: occidere me possunt, sed in totum me perdere non possunt. They may thrust me, but not throw me, shew their teeth, but not devout me, kill me, but not hunt me, &c.

Verse 10. The dying of the Lord] A condition obnoxious to daily deaths and dangers.

Might be made manifest] As it was in Paul, when being sto­ned, he started up with a sic, sic oportet intrare. Thus, thus must heaven be had, and no otherwise.

Verse 11. For we which live, &c.] Good men only are heirs of the grace of life, 1 Pet. 3.7. Others are living ghosts, and walk­ing sepulchres of themselves.

Verse 12. Death worketh in us] It hath already ceized upon [Page 141]us, but yet we are not killed with death, as those were, Revel. 2. 23. As a godly man said, That he did agrotare vitaluèr, so the Saints do Mori vitalitèr, die to live for ever.

But life in you] q. d. You have the happinesse to be exempted, whiles we are tantùm non interempti, little lesse then done to death.

Verse 13. The same spirit] That you have and shall be heirs together of heaven with you, though here we meet with more miseries.

I beleeved and therefore, &c.] The Spirit of faith is no in­dweller, where the door of the lips open not in holy confestion and communication.

Verse 14. Shall present us with you] Shall bring us from the jaws of death, to the joyes of eternall life.

Verse 15. That the abundant grace] This is one end where­fore God suffers his Ministers to be subject to so many miseries, that the people might be put upon praier and praise for their de­liverance.

Verse 16. Yet the inward man] Peter Martyr dying said, My body is weak, my minde is well. Well for the present, and it will be better hereafter, This is the godly mans Motto.

Verse 17. For our light affliction] Here we have an elegant Antithesis, and a double hyperbole beyond englishing. For affliction, here's glory; for light affliction, a weight of glory; for mome [...]ary affliction, eternall glory.

Which is but for a moment] For a short braid only, as that Martyr said. Mourning lasteth but till morning. It is but winking, and thou shalt be in heaven presently, quoth another Martyr.

Worketh unto us] As a causa sine quâ non, as the law worketh wrath, Rom. 4.15.

Afarre more exceeding] An exceeding excessive eternall weight. Or, a far most excellent, eternall weight. Nec Chri­stus, nec coelum patitur hyper [...]olen, saith one. Here it is hard to hyperbolize.

Weight of glory] The Apostle a [...]seth to the Hebrew and Chaldee words, which signifie both weight and glory. [...] Glory is such a weight, as if the body were not upheld by the power of God, it were impossible it should bear it. Joy so great, as that we must enter into it: it is too big to enter into us. Enter into [Page 142]thy Masters joy, Mat. 25. Here we finde that when there is great joy, the body is not able to bear it; our spirits are ready to expire; What shall it then be in heaven?

Verse 18. [...]. Whiles we look not] Gr. Whiles we make them not our scope our mark to aim at. Heaven we may make our mark, our aim, though not our highest aim.

At the things that are seen] Whiles we eye things present on­ly, it will be with us as with an house without pillars, tottering with every blast, or as a ship without anchor, tossed with eve­ry wave.

But at the things which are not seen] Pericula non respicit Martyr, coronas respicit: Plagas non horret, praemium nume­rat: non videt lictores insernè flagellantes, sed Angelos supernè acclamantes, saith Basil: Who also tels us how the Martyrs that were cast out naked in a winters night, being to be burned the next day, [...]. comforted themselves and one another with these words; Sharp is the cold, but sweet is Paradise: Troublesome is the way, but pleasant shall be the end of our journey: let us endure cold a little, and the Patriarchs bosome shall soon warmus: let our foot burn a while, that we may dance for ever with Angels: Let our hand full into the fire, that it may lay hold upon eternall life, &c.

But the things which, &c.] The Latines call prosperous things Res secundas, because they are to be had hereafter, they are not the first things; these are past, Rev. 21.

CHAP. V. Verse 1. For we know]

NOt we think, or hope only: This is the top gallant of faith, the triumph of trust, this is as Latimer ca [...]s it, the sweet-meats of the feast of a good conscience. There are other dainty dishes in this feast, but this is the banquet. The cock on the dung-hill knows not the worth of his jewel.

Our earthly house of this Tabernacle] Our clayie cottage. Man is but terra friabilis, 1 Cor. 15.47. a piece of earth neatly made up. The first man is of the earth earthy: and his earthly house is ever moul­dering over him, ready to fall upon his head. Hence it is called, The life of his hands, Isa. 47. because hardly held up with the labour of his [Page 143]hands. Paul a Tent-maker, elegantly compares mans body to a Tent. Plato also in his dialogue of death, calleth the body a Taber­nacle. [...].

We have a buiding of God] The Ark transportative till then, was setled in Solomons temple: So shall the soul be in heaven. As when one skin fals off, another comes on, so when our earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved or taken down, we shall have a hea­venly house. The soul wears the body as a garment, which when it is worn out, we shall be clothed with a better snit; we shall change our rags for robes, &c. Ita (que) non plangimus, sed plandi­mus quando vitam claudimus: quia dies iste non t [...]m fatalis quam natalis est.

Verse 2. For in this] That is, in this tabernacle of the body.

We groan earnestly] As that Avis Paradisi, Macrob l. 1. c. 11. which being once caught and enraged, never leaves sighing, they say, till set at liberty. The Greeks call the body [...] the souls bond, and [...], quasi [...] the souls sepulchre.

To be clothed upon] By a sudden change, and not to die at all, as 1 Thess. 4.17 1 Cor. 15.51 52. Quis enim vult mori? prorsus nemo. Death when it comes will have a bout with the best, as it had with Hezekiah, David, Jonas, others. For nature abhors it, and every new man is two men. But when a Christian consi­ders, that non nisi per angusta ad augusta perveniatur, that there's no passing into Paradise, but under the flaming sword of this An­gel death, that standeth at the Porch; that there's no coming to the City of God, but thorow this straight and heavy lane no wiping all tears from his eyes, but with his winding sheet, he yeelds, and is not only content, but full glad of his departure. As in the mean while he accepts of life rather then affects it, he endures it rather then desires, Phil. 1.23.

Verse 3. If so be that, &c.] q. d. Howbeit, I know not whe­ther we shall be so cloathed upon, that is, whether we that are now [...], shall be sound alive at Christs coming to judgement, whether we shall then be found clothed with our bodies, or naked, that is, stript of our bodies.

Verse 4. Do groan, being burdened] viz. With sin and misery, whereof we have here our back-burdens.M Bradford. Act. and Mon. fol. 1492. And surely great shame it were (as that Martyr said) that all the whole creatures of God should desire, yea groan in their kinde for our liberty, and we our [Page 144]selves to loath it: as doubtlesse we do, if for the crosse, yea for death it self we with joy swallow not up all sorrow that might let us from following the Lords call, and obeying the Lords provi­dence, &c.

Might be sw [...]llowed up of life] Not as a gulf or fire swallows up that is cast into it, but as perfection swallows up imperfection; As the perfecting of a picture swallows up the rude draught, as perfect skill swallows up bungling, or manhood, childehood; not extinguishing,D. Preston. but drowning it that it is not seen.

Verse 5. He that hath wrought us] Curiously wrought us in the lowermost parts of the earth, that is in the womb, as curious workmen perfect their choice pieces in private, and then set them forth to publike view.Psal 139.15. with Eph. [...]19. Others expound it by Rom 9.23.

The earnest of the spirit] He saith not the Pawn, but the ear­nest. A pawn is to be returned again, but an earnest is part of the whole bargain.

Verse 6. Therefore we are confident] Not haesitant, or halt­ing, as Hadrian the Emperour was, and as he that cried out on his death-bed, Anxius vixi, dubius morior, nescio quò vado, I have lived carefully,Plato. I die doubtfully, I go I know not whither. So­crates also that wisest of Philosophers could not with all his skill resolve his friends, whether it were better for a man to die or to live longer. Cicero comforting himself as well as he could by the help of philosophy against the fear of death, cries out and com­plains at length,Nescio quomo do, imbe [...]ior est med cina qudm morbus. that the medicine was too weak for the disease. It is the true Christian only that can be confident that his end shall be happy, though his beginning and middle haply may be trouble­some, Psal. 37.37.

Whilest we are at home] Or stay for a night, as in an Inne. A man that comes into an Inne, [...]. if he can get a better room, he will: if not, he can be content with it; for, saith he, it is but for a night. So it should be with us.

Verse 7. For we walk by faith] Which puts our heads into heaven, sets us on the top of Pisgah with Moses, and therehence descries and describes unto us the promised Land, gives us to set one foot afore-hand in the porch of Paradise, to see as Stephen did Christ holding out a Crown, with this inscription, Vincenti dabo.

Not by sight] Sense corrects imagination, reason sense, but faith corrects both, thrusting Hagar out of doors, when haughty and haunty grown.

Verse 8. And willing rather] Death is not to be desired as a punishment of sin, but as a period of sin: not as a postern gate to let out our temporall, but as a street door to let in eternall life.

To be present with the Lord] This Bernard calleth Repatrias­se. Plotinus the Philosopher could say when he died,Bern, de morte. That which is divine in me I carry back, [...],Synes. ep 139. to the Originall divine, that is, to God. But whether this man beleeved himself or not, I greatly doubt.

Verse 9. Wherefore we labour] Our hope of heaven maketh us active and abundant in Gods service. The doctrine of assurance is not a doctrine of liberty, but the contrary, 1 Joh. 3.3. [...]. We make it our ambition, faith the Apostle here, to get acceptance in hea­ven, waiting till our father shall call us home, and passing the time of our sojourning here in fear, 1 Pet. 1.17. [...]. The Saints have their commotation upon earth, their conversation in heaven.

Verse 10. For we must all, &c.] This great assize will not be such an Assembly as that of Ahashuerosh, of his Nobles, Princes and Captains only: nor such as the biddings of rich men to their feasts, of their rich neighbours only,Luk. 14.12. but like the invitation of that housholder that sent his servants to compell all to come in. On that day Adam shall see all his nephews together.

Appear before, &c.] Be [...]aid open, and have all ript up. Our sins that are now written as it were, with the juice of lemmons, [...]. shall then by the fire of the last day be made legible. And as in A­pril both wholsome roots and poisonable, discover themselves,Macar. Hom 12. which in the winter were not seen, so at the day of judgement good and evil actions.

The things done in his body] That is,Bernard. the just reward of those things. In die judicy plus valebit conscientia pura, quam marsu­pia plena. Then shall a good conference be more worth then all the worlds good. And this was that that made Paul so sincere a Preacher, and so insatiable a server of God, as Chrysostome cal­leth him.

Whether it be good or bad] Wicked men shall give an account, 1. Debonis commissis: Of goods committed to them: 2. De bo­dis dimissis, of good neglected by them. 3. De malis commissis, of evils committed. 4. De malis permissis, of evils done by o­thers, suffered by them. Ita (que) vivamus, saith the Oratour.Cic. 4 in Ver. Let [Page 146]us so live as those that must render an account of all.

Verse 11. Knowing therefore the terrour, &c.] What a ter­rible time it will be with the wicked, who shall in vain tire the deaf mountains with their hideous out-cries to fall upon them, &c.

We perswade men] To slee from the wrath to come, to re­pent and be converted, that their sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come, Act. 3.19. We speak persuasive­ly to this purpose, but it is God only that perswades.

Verse 12. [...]. Which glory in appearance] Gr. In the face. Hy­pocrites as they repent in the face, Mat. 6.16. so they rejoyce in the face, not in the heart. Their joy is but skin-deep, it is but the hypocrisie of mirth, they do not laugh but grin, their hearts ake many times, when their faces counterfeit a smile: Their mirth is frothy and flashy, such as smooths the brow, but fils not the brest, such as wets the mouth, but warms not the heart.

Verse 13. It is to God] i. e. When to the world we seem mad of pride and vain-glory, yet then we respect only Gods glory.

It is for your sakes] i. e. For your learning, that we are more modest and sparing in commending our Apostleship. It is a good rule, Quicquid agas, propter Deum agas. Doe all for Gods sake.

Verse 14. The love of Christ, &c.] As reward hath an attra­ctive, and punishment an impulsive, so love hath a compulsive fa­culty. This love of Christ had so closed in S. Paul, so hemmed him in, [...]. and begirt him round, that his adversaries reported him a mad man, as vers. 13. he erred in love toward his sweet Saviour, and even exhaled his blessed soul in continuall sallies, as it were, and expressions of his dear affection to the Lord Jesus.

Then were all dead] All the body suffered in and with Christ the head, and so are freed by his death, Heb. 2.9. as if themselves in person had died.

Verse 15. Should not hence forth] Servati sumus ut ser­viamus. The redeemed among the Romans were to ob­serve and honour those that ransomed them as parents, all their daies.

Verse 16. No man after the flesh] i. e. We esteem no man simply the better or worse for his wealth, poverty, honour, igno­miny, or any thing outward. See jam. 1.9, 10, 11. Thomas Wats [Page 147]Martyr, spake thus at his death to his wife and children, Wife, and my good children, I must now depart from you,Act. and Mon. fol 1450. therefore henceforth know I you no more: but as the Lord hath given you to me, so I give you again to him, whom I charge you see that ye obey, &c.

Though we have known Christ] As possibly Paul might have known Christ in the flesh: for Jesus of Nazareth was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, Luk. 24. 19. Austin wished that he might have seen three things, Rome flourishing, Paul preaching, Christ conversing with men upon earth. Bede comes after, and correcting this last wish, faith, yea but let me see the King in his beauty, Christ in his heavenly king­dome. Paul was so spiritualized that he took knowledge of no­thing here below: he passed thorow the world as a man in a deep muse, or that so looks for a lost jewell, that he overlooks all besides it.

Verse 17. Is a new creature] Either a new man, or no man in Christ.

All things are become new] The substance of the soul is the same, the qualities and operations altered. In regeneration our na­tures are translated, not destroied, no not our constitution and complexion. As the melancholy man doth not cease to be so after conversion, only the humour is sanctified to a fitnesse for godly sorrow, holy meditation, &c. so, of other humours. [...]

Verse 18. And all things are of God] He is both authour and fi­nisher of our faith, the God of all grace, the Father of all lights, &c.

And hath given to us the Ministery] He hath taken this office from the Angels, those first preachers of peace, Luk. 2.10, 14. The Angel told Cornelius, his praiers were heard in heaven: but for the doctrine of reconciliation he refers him to Peter, Act. 10.

Verse 19. That God was in Christ, &c.] As the salt-waters of the sea, when they are strained thorow the earth, they are sweet in the rivers: so (saith one) the waters of Majesty and Justice in God, though terrible, yet being strained and derived thorow Christ, they are sweet and delightfull.

Verse 20. Emb [...]ssadours for Christ] And therefore sacred per­sons, not to be violated on pain of Gods heavy displeasure. Do my Prophets no harm.

As though God did beseech you] Gods grace even kneels to us. En flexanimam Suadae medullam: Who can turn his [Page 148]back upon such blessed and bleeding embracements?

Verse 21. To be sin for us] That is, a sin-offering, or an ex­ceeding sinner, as Exod. 29.14. So Christ was, 1. By imputa­tion, for our sins were made to meet upon him, as that Evangeli­call Prophet hath it,See Aug. En­chirid. c. 41. Isa. 53 6. And secondly, By reputation, for he was reckoned among malefactours, ibid. And yet one Augu­stinus de Roma Archbishop of Nazareth was censured in the Councel of Basil, for affirming that Christ was peccatorum maxi­mus, the greatest of sinners. Christ so loved us, saith one, that he endured that which he most hated, to become sin for us (he was made sin passive in himself to satisfie for sin active in us) and the want of that which was more worth then a world to him, the sense of Gods favour for a time, Ama amorem illius, &c. saith Bernard.

Who knew no sinne] That is, With a practicall knowledge, with an intellectuall he did, else he could not have reproved it. We know no more then we practise. Christ is said to know no sin, be­cause he did none.

That we might be made, &c.] As Christ became sin, not by sin inherent in him, but by our sin imputed to him; so are we made the righteousnesse of God, by Christs righteousnesse imputed and given unto us. This the Papists jearingly call putative righte­ousnesse.

CHAP. VI. Verse 1. As workers together]

NOt as coadjutours, but as instruments, such as God is pleased to make use of. See the Note on 1 Cor. 3.9.

The grace of God in vain] That Embassage of grace, Chap. 5. 20.Life of K. Ed. 6. by S^t [...]. Hay p. 74. Or that unspeakable gift of Christ, v. 21. which many use as homely as Rachel did her fathers gods; she hid them in the litter and sat on them: or as that lewd boy in Kets conspiracy, who when the Kings pardon was offered the Rebels by an herald, he turned toward him his naked posteriours, and used words sutable to that gesture. One standing by discharged an harquebuz upon the body, &c.

Verse 2. Now is the accepted time] He purposely beats upon the [...], because opportunity is headlong, and, if once past, irre­coverable. [Page 149]Some are Semper victuri, as Seneca saith, they stand trifling out their time, and so fool away their salvation. God will not alwaies serve men for a sinning-stock. Patientia lasa fit furor. Doe we therefore as Millers and Mariners, who take the gale when it cometh, and make use of it, because they have not the winde in a bottle.

Now is the day of salvation] And God will not suffer men twice to neglect it. If once past, it will never dawn again. Catch therefore at opportunities, as the Eccho catcheth the voice, Psal. 27. take the nick of time. God is more peremptory now then e­ver, Heb. 2.2, 3.

Verse 3. Giving no offence] A Minister should be as Absolom was, without blemish from head to foot. His fruit should be, as that of Paradise, fair to the eye, and sweet to the taste. A small fault is soon seen in him, and easily either imitated or up­braided. God appointed both the weights and measures of the Sanctuary to be twice as large as those of the Common-wealth.

Verse 4. In much patience] Or tolerance, suffering hardship, as good souldiers of Jesus Christ.

In afflictions] Out of which there is little or no use of patience: at least she cannot have her perfect work, Jam. 1.4.

In necessities] Want of necessaries.

In distresses] Such straits, as that we are at a stand, [...]. and have not whether to turn us: we are in a little ease, as it were.

Verse 5. In imprisonments] Chrysostome saith, he had ra­ther be Paul cast into prison, then Paul wrapt up into Pa­radise.

Verse 6. By purenesse] By lamb-like simplicity or sincerity. [...]. Religion loves to lie clean, said one. Godlinesse must run thorow our whole lives as the woof doth thorow the web. See Isa. 33.14. No gold or precious stone is so pure as the prudent minde of a pious man, said divine Plato.

Verse 7. On the right hand, &c.] Against the worlds both ir­ritamenta and terriculamenta, both allurements and affright­ments. Contempt us est à me Romanus & favor & furor, said Luther, when the Pope one while entised him, and another while threatned him. When he was offered to be Cardinall, if he would be quiet, he replied, No, not if I might be Pope. When he was told that he should finde no favour. Quid verò facere poterunt? Epist ad Spal. [Page 150](said he) occident? Nunquid resuscitabunt, ut iterum occidant [...] What will they do? will they kill me? But can they raise me to life again, that they may kill me again? Can they kill me the se­cond time?

Verse 8.Act. and Mon. fol. 1491. By honour and dishonour, &c.] It is written on hea­ven-doors (said that Martyr) Do well and hear ill. A bad re­port port is the ordinary reward of very-well-doing: which made Lu­ther wax proud even of his reproach.Tom. 1. oper. Lat. p 31. [...] Superbus fio, said he quod video nomen pessimum mihi crescere. Hierome also writeth to Augustine, Quod signum major is gloriae est, omnes haeretici me detestantur. This is my glory, that none of the heretikes can give me a good word or look.Qui boni viri famam perdidit ne conscientiam perderet, Sen. It was a divine saying of Seneca, No man sets a better rate upon vertue, then he that loseth a good name to keep a good conscience.

As deceivers] Aspersed for such, as Christ was, Mat. 27.63. And Lucian blasphemously termeth him [...], the crucified cezener.

Verse 9. As unknown] To the world, 1 Joh. 3, 1, 2. A Prince in a strange Land is little set by, as not known. Ʋnkent unkist, as the Northern Proverb hath it.

Well known] To them that have spirituall judgement, and can prize a person to his worth: which the worlds wizards cannot do, Isa. 53.2, 3.

And not killed] God will have a care of that: he corrects in measure, he smites his, not at the root, but in the branches, Isa. 27.8. As it is a rule in physick still to maintain nature, &c. so doth God still keep up the spirits of his people by cordials, Isa. 57.16.

Verse 10. As sorrowfull, yet, &c] Gods works are usually done in oppositis contrarys, as Luther said. Out of the eater he brings meat, &c. This riddle the world understands not.

Yet possessing all things] Godlinesse hath an autarkie, a self-sufficiency, 1 Tim. 6.6. Cuicum paupertate benè convenit, pau­per non est, faith Seneca. A contented man cannot be a poor man.

Verse 11. Our mouth is open unto you] We speak thus freely unto you, out of our deep affection towards you: we even carve you a piece of our heart, we pour forth our selves in this floud of speech, that thereby ye may take a scantling of our over-abundant love to your fouls. [...], open-mouthed men are put for fools [Page 151]oftentimes in Lucian and Aristophanes. But in another sense then the Apostle here useth it. A large heart maketh a man full in the mouth, as if it sought that way to get out to the thing affected.

Verse 12. ye are not straitned in us] Non habitatis angustè in nobis: so Piscator renders it.

But ye are straitned] Ye are bankrupts in love, ye com­ply not, ye do not reciprocate. Plain things will joyn in every point, one with another: not so, round and rugged things.

Verse 13. I speak as unto my children] Here are soft words, hard arguments. This is the way to win: and that was a sad complaint, 2 Cor. 12.15. Love lost is a bitter affliction.M. Ward.

Verse 14. Be not unequally yoked] Dare not (saith a Divine) to yoke thy self with any untamed heifer, that bears not Christs yoke. Quam mase inaequales veniuni juvenci? Ovid. epist. An Oxe and an Asse might not be coupled together in the Law. And hereunto the Apostle seems to allude. The Doctours of Doway up­on Levit. 19.19. Here all participation, say they, with heretikes and schismatiques is forbidden. Philip King of Spain said, He had rather have no Subjects, then Subjects of divers religions. And, out of a bloudy zeal, suffered his eldest son Charles to be murdered by the bloudy Inquisition, because he seemed to favour our pro­fession.Hieron. Catina.

Verse 15. What concord hath Christ] Those Moderatours that plead for a correspondency with Popery, would make a pretty shew, if there were no Bible. But if these reconcilers (as Fran­ciscus de sancta clara, and his fautors) were the wisest men under heaven, and should live to the worlds end, they would be brought to their wits end, before they could accomplish this works end, to make a reconciliation betwixt Christ and Antichrist, betwixt Rome and us.

Verse 16. I will dwell in them] Gr. [...]. I will indwell in them: This notes Gods nearest communion with them. He setteth them before his face continually, Psal. 41.12. as loving to look upon them. The Philosopher told his friends, when they came into his little low cottage, The gods are here with me. God and Angels are with his Saints. [...].

And walk in them] As they did in Solomons porch, and other walks and galleries about the Temple. And hereunto the Prophet alludes, Zach. 3.7. The Turks wonder to see a man walk [Page 152]to and fro, and usually ask such whether they be out of their way, or out of their wits.Bi [...]lulph.

Verse 17. And be ye separate] For grosse Idolatry, and for fundamentall errours only must we separate. Corruptions grew so great in the Church of Rome, that it justly occasioned first the separation of the Greek Churches from the Latine, and then of the Reformed Churches from the Roman.Di [...]p derep. l. 2. cap. 12. Machiavel observed, that after the thousand year of Christ, there was no where lesse piety then in those that dwelt nearest to Rome. And Bellar mine bewails it,Lib. 3. de Papa Rom, cap. 21. That ever since we cried up the Pope for Antichrist, his kingdom hath not only not encreased, but hath greatly de­creased.

And I will receive you] So you shall be no losers, [...]e put you into my bosome. God imparteth his sweetest comforts to his in the wildernes, Hos. 2.14.

Verse 18. I will be a Father] The fundamentall, meritorious, impulsive and finall causes of this precious priviledge, see set forth, Eph. 1.5, 6.

Saith the Lord Almighty] This is added by our Apostle to Jer. 31.9.

CHAP. VII. Verse 1. Having therefore, &c.]

FAith in the promises purifieth the heart, Act. 15.9. and argueth notably from mercy to duty.

From all filthinesse] Sin defileth a man worse then any jakes or leprosie. It is the devils excrement, it is the corruption of a dead soul. Seldome or never is there a birth of saving grace, but there follows it a flux of mortification.

Of flesh and spirit] i. e. Both of the outward and inward man. Or of flesh, that is, worldly lusts, and grosle evils, as unclean­nesse, earthly-mindednesse, &c. And of spirit, that is, more spiri­tuall lusts, as pride, presumption, self-flattery, &c. These lie more up in the heart of the Countrey, as it were: those other in the fron­ [...]iers and skirts of it.

Perfecting holines] Propounding to our selves, the highest pitch, and the best paterns.

In the fear of God] Which is the fountain, whence holinesse flows, See Pro. 8.13.

Verse 2. Receive us] Gr. Make room for us in your hearts and houses. Set wide open the everlasting doors, [...]. Locum date. that the King of glory may come in, triumphantly riding upon us his white horses, Revel. 6 2.

We have wronged no man] Ministers must so live, that they may, if need be, glory of their innocency and integrity, as did Moses, Samuel, Paul, Melancthon.

We have corrupted no man] viz. As the false Apostles had done with their leaven of false Doctrine, which eateth as a canker, 2 Tim. 2.17. or a gangrene, which presently over-runs the parts, and takes the brain. Protagoras in Plato boasted that of those sixty years that he had lived, he had spent fourty in corrupting of youth.

We have defrauded no man] We have cunningly made sale of no man, as those old impostours, that made prize of their prison­ers, 2 Pet. 2.3. And as those Popish Muscipulatores or Mice-catchers, as the story calleth them, that raked together their Pe­ter-pence, and other moneys here in England by most detestable arts. Polydore Virgil was one of these ill officers, that left not so much money in the whole Kingdome sometimes, as they either carried with them, or sent to Rome before them.

Verse 3. I speak not this, &c.] Though cause enough he had to condemn them for their shamefull tenacity toward him, whom they basely suffered to labour for his living, and to preach gratis; a­gainst all right and reason.

To die and to live with you] Such faithfull friends are in this age all for the most part gone in pilgrimage, and their return is un­certain, as once the Duke of Buckingham said to Bishop Morton in Rich. the thirds time. Jonathan and David, Pylades and Ore­stes, Polistratus and Hippoclides are famous for their love one to another. These two last being Philosophers of Epicurus his sect,V [...]l [...]r, M [...]x, l. [...]. c. 16. are said to have been born the same day, to have lived together all their daies, and to have died in the same moment of time, being well stricken in years. But the love of Irish foster-brothers, is said far to surpasse all the loves of all men.C [...]md. Elizab. fol. 483. [...].

Verse 4. I am exceeding joyfull] Gr. I do over-abound exceedingly with joy. Others may revell, the godly only rejoyce: they have an exuberancy of joy, such as no good can match, no evil over-match: Witnes the Martyrs ancient and modern. Oh how my heart leapeth for joy (said one of them) that I am so near the apprehension of [Page 154]eternall blisse I God forgive me mine unthankfulnesse and unwor­thinesse of so great glory. In all the daies of my life I was never so merry,Act. and Mon. fol 1668, 1669 1670. as now I am in this dark dungeon. Beleeve me there is no such joy in the world, as the people of Christ have under the crosse. Thus and much more M^r Philpot Martyr.

Verse 5. Our flesh had no rest] Our spirit had no unrest. The outward man suffers much sometimes, when the inward remains unmolested. Philip Lantgrave of Hesse, being asked how he could so well bear his seven years imprisonment, answered, Se divines Martyrum consolationes sensisse, that he felt the divine consolations of the Martyrs, which as bladders bore him aloft all waters.

Verse 6. God that comforteth] This is a most sweet attri­bute of God, such as we may profitably plead and produce in praier. He loves to comfort those that are forsaken of their hopes.

By the coming of Titus] Who came very opportunely,2 Cor. 2.12, 13. even whiles Paul was writing this Epistle. Gods comforts are there­fore sweet, because seasonable. He never comes too soon, nor staies too long. He waits to be gracious, as being a God of judge­ment. Were we but ripe, he is ready, and will lift us up in due time, Isa. 30 18. 1 Pet. 5.6.

Verse 7. Your earnest desire] Of seeing me, or rather of satis­fying me.

Your fervent minde] Gr. Your zeal, both against the ince­stuous person, and the false Apostles, Saint Pauls adver­saries.

Verse 8. Though it were but for a season] Gr. For an hour. In sin, the pleasure passeth, the sorrow remaineth: but in repent­ance, the sorrow passeth, the pleasure abideth for ever. God soon poureth the oil of gladnesse into broken hearts.

Verse 9. [...]. That ye sorrowed to repentance] Gr. To a transmen­tation, to a thorow change both of the minde and manners. Op­tima & aptissima poenitentia est nova vita. saith Luther. Which saying (though condemned by Pope Leo 10.) is certainly an ex­cellent saying. Repentance for sin is nothing worth without re­pentance from sin. If thou repent with a contradiction (saith Ter­tullian) God will pardon thee with a contradiction. Thou repent­est, and yet continuest in thy sin. God will pardon thee, and yet send thee to hell. There's a pardon with a contradiction.

Sorry after a godly manner] Gr. According to God. This is a sorrowing for sin, as it is Offensivum Dei, averfivum à Deo. [...]. This both comes from God, and drives a man to God, as it did the Church in the Canticles, and the Prodigall.

Verse 10. Godly sorrow worketh] Sin bred sorrow, and sor­row, being right, destroieth sin: as the worm that breeds in the wood, eats into it, and devours it.Chrysost. So that of this sorrow accord­ing to God we may say as the Romans did of Pompey the great, [...] Plutarch. That it is the fair and happy daughter of an ugly and odious mother.

Repentance never to be repented of] That is, saith one, [...]. M [...]rb [...]y of Repent. Never to fall back again: for a man in falling back, seemeth to repent him of his repentance. Others interpret it, such a repentance, as a man shall never have cause to repent of. Job cursed the day of his birth; but no man was ever heard to curse the day of his new birth. For it is repentance to salvation, it hath heaven: it is that rain-bow, which if God see shining in our hearts, he will never drown our souls.

But the sorrow of the world] That which carnall men con­ceive either for the want or losse of good, or for the sense or fear of evil.

Worketh death] As it did in Queen Mary, Act. and Mon. fol. 1901. who died (as some supposed by her much sighing before her death) of thought and sorrow either for the departure of K. Philip, or the losse of Callice, Duke of the he [...]rt. or both. There are that interpret death in this place, of spirituall death, because it is opposed here to life and salvation.

Verse 11. What carefulnesse] Gr. What study, [...]. Ve [...]emens ad a­liquam rem magna cum vo­la [...]e appli­catio. which (saith Tully) is an earnest and serious bending and applying of the minde to some thing with a great deal of delight. It is rendered here carefulnesse, not that of diffidence, but that of diligence put­ting a man upon those wholsome thoughts, What have I done? What shall I do, &c.?

Yea what clearing] Gr. Apology or defence. M Bradford. S [...]r. of Repent. p. 14. The old inter­preter renders it satisfaction. It may be (saith M^r Bradford) he meant a new life, to make amends thereby to the Congregation offended. As the devil is called the Accuser, so the Spirit is cal­led, The Comforter or pleader for us: because as he maketh inter­cession in our hearts to God: so upon true repentance he helpeth us to make apologies for our selves; not by denying our sins or de­fending them, but by confessing and disclaiming them, as a childe to his father.

Yea, what indignation] Or stomach, as Ephraim, Jer. 31.19. The publican who smote himself upon the brest; he would have knockt his corruptions, if he could have come at them: as those Isa. 30.22. that polluted the Idols that they had perfumed, and said unto them, Get you hence, be packing, What have I to do any more with Idolds? Hos. 14.8. Out of doors with this Tamar, here's no room for her. So foolish was I, and so very a beast, saith David, Psal. 73. How angry and hot was he against himself, 2 Sam. 24.10.

Yea, what fear] Of Gods heavy displeasure, and of doing any more so; the burnt childe dreads the fire. He that hath been stung, hates a snake.

Yea, what vehement desire] As that of Rachel after children, as that of David after the water of the well of Bethlehem, as that of the hunted Hinde after the water-brooks. David panted and fainted after God.Psal. 119. That Martyr cried out, None but Christ, none but Christ.

Yea, what zeal] Which is an extreme heat of all the affecti­ons for and toward God. Davids zeal ate him up. Paul was judg'd as mad for Christ, as ever he had been against him, 2 Cor. 5.13. with Act. 26.11.

Yea, what revenge] Out of deepest self-abhorrency, buffet­ing the flesh, and giving it the blew eye, as S. Paul (that crucifix of mortification) once did. Thus the women parted with their looking-glasses, Exod. 35. Mary Magdalen wiped Christs feet with her hair, wherewith she had formerly made nets to catch fools in. Cranmer burnt his right hand first, wherewith he had subscribed,Act. and Mon. fol. 1714. and oftentimes repeated in the flames. This unworthy right hand, so long as his voice would suffer him. The true peni­tentiary amerceth himself, and abridgeth his flesh of some lawfull comforts, as having forfeited all. These seven signs of godly sor­row are to be seen in the repenting Church, Cant. 5. as in a wor­thy example or emblem. I sleep, there's indignation, but my heart waketh, there's Apology. I arose to open &c. there's study or care and diligence. My soul failed, there's her zeal. I sought him, I called on him, there's her vehement desire. The watchmen found me, they smote me, &c. There's her revenge, whiles she shrank not for any danger, but followed Christ thorow thick and thin in the night among the watch. And all this shews her fear of being again overtaken with drousinesse.

To be clear in this matter] Because they had heartily repent­ed of it. Quem poenitet peccasse, poenè est innocens. Senec. in Agam. Repen­tance is almost equivalent to innocence. Imò plus est prope­modùm à vitijs se revocasse, quam vitia ipsa nescivisse, Amb. in Psal. saith Ambrose.

Verse 12. Not for his cause] That is, Not so much for his cause.

That suffered the wrong] viz. The father of the incestuous person. Compare Gen. 49.4.

But that our care for you] That the Church might not suffer, as allowing such foul facts. How the Primitive Christians were slandered by the Heathens in this kinde, who knows not?Act. and Mon [...] 838. Cenalis Bishop of Auranches wrote against the Church at Paris, defend­ing impudently that their assemblies were to maintain whoredom. Such reports also they cast abroad a little before the massacre, They tell the people in Italy, that Geneva is a professed Sanctuary of all roguery, that in England the people is grown barbarous, and eat young children, &c.

Verse 13. His spirit was refreshed] After his long and tedi­ous toil and travell to come to you, he never thought much of his labour. Calvin said, That it would not grieve him to sail over ten seas about an uniform draught for religion.Ne decem qui­dem maria, &c.

Verse 14. I am not ashamed] As I should have been, had it proved otherwise. Lying is a blushfull sin: and therefore the lier denies his own lie, because he is a shamed to be taken with it: and our ruffians revenge it with a stab.

Verse 15. Whiles he remembreth] Deep affections make deep impressions.

CHAP. VIII. Verse 1. Of the grace of God]

IT is a favour, yea an honour to us, that we may relieve poor Christ in his necessitous members, Psal. 16.2. When there­fore he sets us up an Altar, be we ready with this Sacrifice, Heb. 13.16.

Verse 2. In a great triall of affliction] For affliction tries what [...]ettle we are made of. Alchymy gold will not endure the seventh [...]re, as true gold will. Affliction (the triall of our faith) is more [Page 158]precious then gold, 1 Pet. 1.7. What then is faith it self so tried? Revel. 3.18.

The abundance of their joy] Whilest the spirit of glory, and of God rested upon them, 1 Pet. 4.14. Well my grace be called the divine nature: for, as God brings light cut of darknesse, rich­es out of poverty, &c. so doth grace: it turns dirt into gold, &c. The world wonders (said that Martyr) how we can be so mer­ry, in such extreme misery.Act. and Mon. fol. 1 [...]88. But our God is omnipotent, which turneth misery into felicity, &c. See the Note on 2 Cor. 7.4.

Their deep poverty] Gr. [...] Their poverty being now at the very bottome, and having little left beside hope: they were even ex­hausted, and yet gave liberally. Giles of Brussels, Martyr, gave to the poor whatsoever he had, that necessity could spare, and on­ly lived by his science, which was of a Cutler. Some he refresht with his meat,Act. and Mon. fol. 811. some with his clothes, some with his houshold-stuff. One poor woman there was brought to bed, and had no bed to lie in; to whom he brought his own bed, himself content to lie in the straw.

Ʋnto the riches of their liberality] Gr. [...]. Of their simplicity: in opposition to that crafty and witty wilinesse of the covetous to defend themselves from the danger of liberality. Wherein also they are utterly mistaken; for not getting, but giving is the way to thrive. See the Note on Mat. 6.4.

Verse 3. Yea and beyond their power] One such poor Ma­cedonian might well shame a hundred rich Corinthian cur-mudgins.

They were willing] Gr. [...] They were voluntiers, full of chearfull charity.

Verse 4. [...]. Receive the gift] Gr. The grace, i. e. the alms: it being of Gods free grace that we have, 1. What to give. 2. Hearts to give it. For naturally we are all like children which though they have their bosoms, mouths, and both hands full, yet are loth to part with any.

Verse 5. Not as we hoped] God is usually better to us then our hopes.

First gave their own selves to the Lord] Ay, this is the right way of giving alms; and this is done by faith, the work whereof is to be an empty hand, Mendica manus (as Luther calleth it) a beggers hand to receive it: but when it hath received, it gives [Page 159]back again it self and all, and thinks all too little, as Mary Magda­len did her precious ointment.

And unto us by the will] The good soul delivers up it self to Christs faithfull Ministers, and saith in effect to them, as Luther, before he was better informed, wrote to Pope Leo X, anno 1518.Scul. Annal. [...]8 Prostratum pedibus me tibi offero, cum omnibus quae sum & ha­beo:—Vocem tuam vocem Christi in to praesidentis & loquentis agnoscam. I humbly prostrate my self with all that I have, and am, at thy feet, &c.

Verse 6. So he would finish] Finis opus coronat, the end is better then the beginning, saith Solomon. Charles the 5. his emblem was Ʋlteriùs. Titus was here desired to take up the whole alms, and not to faint till he had finish [...]d, Gal 6 9.

Verse 7. As ye abound in faith] He purposely commendeth them, that he may the better insinuate into them. Ministers may profitably praise their people in some cases, that they may the soon­er win them to duty: For there is no so sweet hearing (saith Xeno­phon) as a mans own commendation. [...].

Verse 8. To prove the sincerity] Gr. The germanity, [...]. the na­turalnesse, legitimatenesse, opposed to bastardlinesse. This age a­boundeth with mouth-mercy, which is good cheap, and there­fore, like refuse fruit, is found growing in every hedge. But a lit­tle handfull were worth a great many such mouth-fuls, Isa. 51.18. Complaint is made, that there is not any one that taketh Sion by the hand. S. James tels of some in his time that would feed their poor brethren with good words, and good wishes, Jam. 2.15, 16. as if they had been of the Cameleon-kinde, to live with Ephraim upon winde, Hos. 12.1. But what said the poor man to the Car­dinall, who denied him a peny which he begged, and offered him his blessing, which he begg'd not? If thy blessing had been worth a peny, I should not have had it; keep it therefore to thy selfe, Carle.

Verse 9. He became poor] Not having where to lay his head, nor wherewith to pay tribute, till he had sent to sea for it, &c. Lo he that was heir of all things, Heb. 1.2. was scarce owner of any thing, but disinriched and disrobed himself of all, that through his poverty, he might crown us with the inestimable riches of heaven­ly glory: This is such a motive to mercifulnesse as may melt the most flinty heart that is.

Verse 10. But also to be forward] Gr. To be willing. This [Page 160]the Apostle makes to be more then to do, that is, then to do with an ill will.Psal. 110.3. or for by-respects. Virtus nolentium nulla est. Christ will enjoy his Spouses love by a willing contract, not by a ravish­ment: the title of all converts is, a willing people.

Verse 11. Now therefore perform] Unlesse our willing of good be seconded with endeavour, it is nothing worth: Balaam wished well to heaven, so did he that came kneeling to our Saviour with good master, &c. but they stuck at the hardship of holinesse, without which there is no heaven to be had: they would not come off here, and therefore gat nothing by their short-winded wishes. Solomon compares such sluggards to the door, that turns on the hinges,Virtutem exop­tant contabes­cu [...]t (que) relictà. Pers. but yet hangs still upon them, it comes not off for all the turnings.

Verse 12. It is accepted] Sic minimo capitur thuris honore Deus. Noahs Sacrifice could not be great, yet was greatly acce­pted. Jacob bad his sons take a little of every good thing, and car­ry for a present to the Lord of Aegypt. Saul and his servant pre­sent Samuel with the fourth part of a shekel, to the value of about our five-pence. Thankfulnesse (they had learned) was not measured by God and good men by the weight, but by the will of the retribu­tour. God cals for that which a mans heart inclines him to do, be it more, be it lesse: so low doth his highnesse stoop to our meannesse; preferring the willingnesse of the minde, before the worthinesse of the work.

Verse 13. [...]. And you burdened] Gr. Pinched or pressed, viz. with poverty.

Verse 14. Your abundance] That your cup may overflow in­to their lesser dishes, that your superfluities both in respect of the necessity of nature and exigency of estate (as the Schoolmen speak) may supply the wants of Gods poor afflicted.

A supply for your want] Those that lend mercy may have need to borrow. The Shunamite that refused once to be spoken for to the King by the Prophet, little thought she should afterwards have craved that curtesie of his man Gehezi. Those that stand fastest upon earth, have but slippery footing: No man can say, that he shall not need friends. Pythias was so wealthy a man, that he was able to entertain Xerxes his whole Army consisting of a million of men: yet afterwards he became so poor that he wanted bread.

Verse 15. He that had gathered much] He that was so nimble [Page 161]as to gather more then his neighbour, was to supply his neighbour, that every man might have his Omer. Now the equity of this law being common and perpetuall, the A­postle draweth his argument from it. Riches, saith one, are but as Manna: those that gathered more of it, had but enough to serve their turn (or if they gathered more, 'twas but a trouble and an­noyance to them) and they that gathered lesse had no want. Let the rich account themselves the poor mans stewards. With-hold not good from the owners thereof (the poor) when it is in the pow­er of thy hand to do it.

Verse 16. But thanks be to God] Deo gratias was ever in Pauls mouth, and in Austins, and should be in ours.

Verse 17. But being more forward] A good heart is ready to every good work, waiting the occasions thereof, Tit. 3.1. as the Bee, so soon as ever the Sun breaks forth, flies abroad to gather ho­ney and wax.

Verse 18. Whose praise is in the Gospel] S. Luke, likely, who wrote first Gospel, as some gather out of Luke 1.1. and whom Ambrose highly commendeth for the most clear and distinct Gospel-writer.

Verse 19. Chosen of the Churches] This compared with Act. 13.1, 2. it may seem the Apostle meaneth not Luke, but Barnabas: though others think Timothy. Danae in 1 Tim. 612. [...].

Verse 20. Avoiding this] As shipmen avoid a rock or shelf: for it is a seafaring terme, and shews how shie we should be doing ought, that may render our honesty suspected. Ego si bonam fa­mam servasso, sat dives ero, said he in the Comedy.

Verse 21. Providing] Projecting, procuring. [...] A good name is a great blessing, and therefore the same word in Hebrew signifieth both, Prov. 28.20. [...]

Verse 22. Whom we have oft] Some are of opinion that Luke is here deciphered rather then vers. 19. Whoever it was, it is much for his honour, that Apelles-like he was approved in Christ,Rom. 16. and active for the Church.

Verse 23. Messengers] Gr. Apostles, Emandati, Ambassa­dours of speciall and high emploiment.

The glory of Christ] So the Church is called the glory, Isa. 4.5. Gods glory, Isa. 46.13. a crown of glory, and a roiall diadem in the hand of Jehovah, Isa. 62.3. The throne of God, Exod. 17.16. The throne of glory, Jer. 4.21. The ornament of God, yea [Page 162]the beauty of his ornament, set in Majesty, Ezek. 7.20. There is not so much of the glory of God (saith one) in all his works of creation and providence, as in one gracious action that a Christian performs. [...].

Verse 24. Wherefore shew ye] As by an ocular demonstration, or as by pointing the finger.

Before the Churches] In the face of the Churches, whose eyes are now full set upon you, [...]. to see what entertainment ye will give to their messengers. A Christian is like a crystall glasse, with a lamp in the midst.

CHAP IX. Verse 1. The ministring to the Saints]

OR the service that ye owe the Saints in ministring to their ne­cessities. Amadeus Duke of Savoy, Stephanus King of Hun­gary. Hooper Bishop of Glocester, [...]. and D^r Tailour Martyr, are famous for their labour of love in ministring to the Saints.

Verse 2. Was ready] To wit, in their resolutions: for the col­lection was not yet made.

And your zeal] i.e. Your liberall contribution out of deep af­fection, and an holy emulation to exceed others in bounty.

Verse 4.Capel. in Spic. In this same confident boasting] Gr. In this confi­dence of glorying: A Metaphor from hunters, who confidently expect the beast, and valiantly set upon him. Sic latini dicunt, subsistere apram.

Verse 5. Not of covetousnesse] Non ut extortum aliquid, saith Piscator, velut illiberale aliquid. Not as wrung out of you, squeezed out, as verjuice is out of a crab. Covetous persons part with their peny, as with bloud out of their hearts, Citiùs aquam ex pumice, clavam ex manu Herculis extorqueas. God will set off all hearts from such misers in their misery, that are so unreasonably mercilesse.

Verse 6. [...] Which soweth bountifully] Gr. That soweth in bles­sings; alluding to Ezek. 34.26. Eccles. 11.1. Cast thy bread up­on the water, that is, upon fat and fertile places, loca irrigua. A Metaphor from seedsmen, who eat not all, sell not all, but sow some: so should we sow that we have upon the backs and bellies of the poor, sow more of this seed in Gods blessed bo­some, [Page 163]the fruit whereof we are sure to reap in our greatest need.

Verse 7. According as he purposeth] God straineth upon none: See Levit. 5.6, 12, and 14.10, 21, 30. Liberality implieth liberty.

God loveth a chearfull giver] Dat benè, dat mulium, qui dat cum munere vultum, One may give with his hand, and pull it back with his looks.

Verse 8. And God is able] Fear not therefore lest your selves should want hereafter, if you should give liberally now. Is not mercy as sure a grain as vanity? Is God like to break?

Having all sufficiency] He saith not, superfluity. Enough we shall be sure of, and an honest affluence, if fit for it,De civit Dei l. 5 c. 25. and can make us friends with it. Bonus Deus Constantinum magnum tantis terrenis implevit muneribus, quanta optare nullus auderet, saith Austin. God gave Constantine more wealth then heart could wish, and he was no niggard of it to poor Christians.

In all things] The Apostle useth many Ali's on purpose to crosse and confute our covetousnesse, who are apt to think we have never enough.

Verse 9. He hath dispersed abroad] Generall Norice was like that Bishop of Lincolne, that never thought he had that thing that he did not give. Of M^r Wiseheart the Scottish Martyr it is repor­ted, that his charity had never end, night, day, nor noon.Act. and Mon. fol. 1155. He for­bare one meal in three, one day in four for the most part to be­stow it on the poor. He never changed his sheets, but he gave them away, &c.

His righteousnesse endureth for ever] Never did a charitable act go away without the retribution of a blessing. See the Note on Mat. 10.42.

Verse 10. And multiply your seed sown] He that soweth seemeth to cast away his seed, but he knows he shall receive his own with usury. Isaac had a hundred-fold encrease. In Aegypt so far as the river Nilus watereth, the ground is so fruitfull,Blunts voiage, 77. that they do but throw in the seed, and have four rich harvests in lesse then four moneths. Temporalia Dei servis impensa non pereunt, sed parturiunt. Sidedisses tres aureos, accepisses trecentos, said that Bishop of Millain to his servant, that had not given so much to the poor as he had appointed him. If we never sow,Iob Manlij. loc. com pag. 359. we shall never reape, said that [...]ood poor Minister that bad [Page 164]his wife give three-pence (his whole stock) to a poor bro­ther.

Verse 11.Rogers of love. Which causeth through us] Whiles we not only re­lieve them, but instruct them, as Bishop Hooper did his board of beggars, as D^r Tailour the Martyr did the Alms-people of Had­ley, and other poor of his Parish.Act. and Mon. fol. 1370. Ibid 1387. As Giles of Brussels did, mini­string wholsome exhortation of sound doctrine to them he relieved, and so eliciting from them many thanksgivings unto God.

Verse 13. For your professed subjection] Whilest you testifie your faith by your works, as they produced the coats that Dorcas made, to prove her a devout woman; and as Numb. 13.13. it ap­peared by the fruits it was a good land. Heathens acknowledg­ed, That no people in the world did love one another so as Christi­ans did.

Verse 14. And by their praier for you] A poor Christians praiers cannot be bought too dear. I will restore comfort to him, and to his mourners, Isa. 57.18. Such can do much with God. Et cum talis fueris memento mei, saith Bernard to his poor, but pure friend. How heartily praieth Paul for One siphorus, 2 Tim. 1.18?Meditat. deve­tiss cap. 5.

Verse 15. For his unspeakable gift] That is, for Christ (saith Theophylact, whom Piscator followeth) who is called the gift, by an excellency, Joh. 4.10. and the benefit, 1 Tim. 6.2.

CHAP. X. Verse 1. By the meeknesse and gentlenesse]

VVHom in those sweet vertues I desire to imitate. The praise of Christs meeknesse recorded by the Prophet, and ex­plained by Philip, converted the Eunuch, Act. 8.

Who in presence am base] i. e. Despicable, because I take not upon me, and bear a port, as the false Apostles doe. Meeknesse of spirit commonly draws on injuries. A Crow will stand upon a sheeps back pulling off wool from her sides.

Am bold toward you] So mine adversaries report me, as if I were over-bold and busie by my letters.